A Trip To The Past: Battle Of The Labyrinth
by NicoDiAngeloLover7
Summary: Demigods and Olympians have finished Titan's Curse & Starting Battle of the Labyrinth. How everyone will react when they find Nico and that Daedalus is alive at that point. Slash! Percy/Nico(Doesn't matter the order)(Might add how it all started with Nico/Percy. Keep ideas coming in and lots of detail.)Hope you all will like this. R&R. All rights go to R.R. I own the plot.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: I don't own any of this, except the plot. Everything else goes to Rick Riordan(book and characters). Hope you guys like it. It is a slash of Percy and Nico. If you don't like it, don't bother to read it and give me bad reviews(flames) about it being a slash and that they don't belong together. This is called fanfiction for a reason. And Percico is my favorite pairing, I enjoy writing this, just like I do reading it, as do others as well. Hope you like it. To those who actually enjoy this story and the pairing. Your reviews really uplift me to write me and to not just abandon it cause I think that nobody even likes to read this story._

_A Personal thanks to **V. L. Crawford, MYSTICLEGENDWARRIORSROCK**(My Beta-reader), the two that stayed with my stories since the beginning._

_I would put every single one of you that review my stories and actually like it in this to thank you, but that's over 200 or 300 names. But I thank every one of you for the reviews, they're very enjoyable to read(as long as they aren't flames) and its good to know that someone enjoys this._

_~NicoDiAngeloLover7_

* * *

"Does everyone want to stop for a break before continuing with the next book?" Athena asked.

Right before anyone one replied, two demigods ran into the throne room, out of breath, breathing heavily like they ran ten miles.

"I thought you two were already sent back to the future," Annabeth said, a little surprised and shocked.

"Nope," Travis said, popping the 'p'.

"So what have you been doing?" Hermes asked, slightly curious what his sons might have been doing to be gone so long.

You could tell by their mischievous smirks that they were doing their usual, pranking.

'Camp' was all they said.

Percy smirked and asked, "Does it have anything to do with Miss. Gardener?"

Travis blushed while the demigods, including his brother, snickered at his expense.

"Well I guess since you haven't been here in a while, you get to read," Thalia commented.

Connor then took the book from Ares and started to read. Soon Athena's question was left unnoticed.

**"I Battle the Cheerleading Squad,"**

And that single phrase got Ares attention, knowing there was a fight coming.

Much to Poseidon and Nico's dismay since there was once again going to a near-death experience for Percy.

**The last thing I wanted to do on my summer break was blow up another school.**

"Another one?" Athena questioned Perseus with her eyebrow raised.

Percy just shrugged his shoulders.

**But there I was Monday morning, the first week of June,**

"June? Why in June?" Demeter asked.

"You'll see" was what was said.

**sitting in my mom's car in front of Goode High School on East 81st. Goode was this big brownstone building overlooking the East River. A bunch of BMWs and Lincoln Town Cars were parked out front. Staring up at the fancy stone archway, I wondered how long it would take me to get kicked out of this place.**

The demigods snickered. thinking, 'Not long at all.'

**"Just relax." My mom didn't sound relaxed. "It's only an orientation tour. And remember, dear, this is Paul's school. So try not to…you know."**

**"Destroy it?"**

**"Yes."**

**Paul Blofis,my mom's boyfriend, was standing out front, greeting future ninth graders as they came up the steps. With his salt-and-pepper hair, denim clothes, and leather jacket, he reminded me of a TV actor, but he was just an English teacher. He'd managed to convince Goode High School to accept me for ninth grade; despite the fact that I'd gotten kicked out of every school I'd ever attended.**

"I wonder how he managed that," Annabeth and Thalia said in a teasing tone.

**I'd tried to warn him it wasn't a good idea, but he wouldn't listen.I looked at my mom. "You haven't told him the truth about me, have you?"**

**She tapped her fingers nervously on the wheel. She was dressed up for a job interview—her best blue dress and high-heeled shoes."I thought we should wait," she admitted.**

**"So we don't scare him away."**

**"I'm sure orientation will be fine, Percy, It's only one morning."**

**"Great," I mumbled. "I can get expelled before I start the school year."**

This caused everyone to snicker.

**"Think positive. Tomorrow you're off to camp! After orientation, you've got your date—"**

Nico raised his eyebrows at Percy in question.

"It's not what you think," Percy whispered.

**"It's not a date!" I protested. "It's just Annabeth, Mom. Jeez!"**

**"She's coming all the way from camp to meet you."**

**"Well, yeah."**

**"You're going to the movies."**

**"Yeah."**

**"Just the two of you."**

**"Mom!"**

Laughter echoed in the room yet Nico was glaring at Percy in an accusing manner.

Percy rolled his eyes at his jealousy and whispered, "Just listen to the book, it's not what you think. And I'm not your good side yet, remember."

Nico nodded.

**She held up her hands in surrender, but I could tell she was trying hard not to smile. "You'd better get inside, dear. I'll see you tonight."**

**I was about to get out of the car when I looked over the steps of the school. Paul Blofis was greeting a girl with frizzy red hair. She wore a maroon T-shirt and ratty jeans decorated with marker drawings. When she turned, I caught a glimpse of her face, and the hairs on my arms stood straight up.**

"Was it RED?" Annabeth asked. Surprisingly there was no anger in her tone.

"Yep," was his reply.

"You have terrible luck, Kelp Head," Thalia commented.

"Who's RED?" the Olympians questioned but was met with silence.

**"Percy?" my mom asked. "What's wrong?"**

**"N-nothing," I stammered. "Does the school have a side entrance?"**

**"Down the block on the right. Why?"**

**"I'll see you later."**

**My mom started to say something, but I got out of the car and ran, hoping the redheaded girl wouldn't see me.**

**What was she doing here? Not even my luck could be this bad. Yeah, right. I was about to find out my luck could get a lot worse.**

**Sneaking into orientation didn't work out too well. Two cheerleaders in purple-and-white uniforms were standing at the side entrance, waiting to ambush freshmen.**

**"Hi!" They smiled, which I figured was the first and last time any cheerleaders would be that friendly to me. One was blonde with icy blue eyes. The other was African American with dark curly hair like Medusa's (and believe me, I know what I'm talking about).**

"That he does," muttered everybody.

**Both girls had their names stitched in cursive on their uniforms, but with my dyslexia, the words looked like meaningless spaghetti.**

**"Welcome to Goode," the blonde girl said. "You are so going to love it."**

**But as she looked me up and down, her expression said something more like, ****_Eww, who is this loser?_**

This caused everyone to laugh and Percy to pout.

"Percy quit looking like a puppy that just got kicked," Nico said before pecking his lips.

**The other girl stepped uncomfortably close to me. I studied the stitching on her uniform and made out Kelli. She smelled like roses and something else I recognized from riding lessons at camp—the scent of freshly washed horses. It was a weird smell for a cheerleader. Maybe she owned a horse or something. Anyway, she stood so close I got the feeling she was going to try to push me down the steps. "What's your name, fish?"**

"First clue, seaweed brain," Annabeth said.

"Yeah, yeah. I know" Percy muttered.

**"Fish?"**

**"Freshman."**

"Uh, Percy."

**The girls exchanged looks.**

**"Oh, Percy Jackson," the blonde one said. "We've been waiting for you."**

**That sent a major Uh-oh chill down my back. They were blocking the entrance, smiling in a not-very-friendly way. My hand crept instinctively toward my pocket, where I kept my lethal ballpoint pen, Riptide.**

"Second clue,"

Nico nervously bit his lip.

**Then another voice came from inside the building. "Percy?" It was Paul Blofis,**

Poseidon sighed in relief.

**somewhere down the hallway. I'd never been so glad to hear his voice.**

**The cheerleaders backed off. I was so anxious to get past them I accidentally kneed Kelli in the thigh.**

**Clang.**

**Her leg made a hollow, metallic sound, like I'd just hit a flagpole.**

"Definitely a monster," Hermes commented.

**"Ow," she muttered. "Watch it, fish."**

**I glanced down, but her leg looked like a regular old leg. I was too freaked out to ask questions. I dashed into the hall, the cheerleaders laughing behind me.**

**"There you are!" Paul told me. "Welcome to Goode!"**

**"Hey, Paul—uh, Mr. Blofis." I glanced back, but the weird cheerleaders had disappeared.**

**"Percy, you look like you've seen a ghost."**

**"Yeah, uh—"**

**Paul clapped me on the back. "Listen, I know you're nervous, but don't worry. We get a lot of kids here with ADHD and dyslexia. The teachers know how to help."**

"That'll be the least of his worries," Hera said.

**I almost wanted to laugh. If only ADHD and dyslexia were my biggest worries. I mean, I knew Paul was trying to help, but if I told him the truth about me, he'd either think I was crazy or he'd run away screaming. Those cheerleaders, for instance. I had a bad feeling about them…. Then I looked down the hall, and I remembered I had another problem. The redheaded girl I'd seen on the front steps was just coming in the main entrance.**

**Don't notice me, I prayed.**

**She noticed me. Her eyes widened.**

"Busted," The Stolls and Hermes commented simultaneously.

**"Where's the orientation?" I asked Paul.**

**"The gym. That way. But—"**

**"Bye."**

**"Percy?" he called, but I was already running.**

**I thought I'd lost her.**

**A bunch of kids were heading for the gym, and soon I was just one of three hundred fourteen-year-olds all crammed into the bleachers. A marching band played an out-of-tune fight song that sounded like somebody hitting a bag of cats with a metal baseball bat.**

"That sounds... pleasant," Thalia said.

**Older kids, probably student council members, stood up front modelling the Goode school uniform and looking all, hey, we're cool. Teachers milled around, smiling and shaking hands with students. The walls of the gym were plastered with big purple and-white banners that said WELCOME FUTURE FRESHMEN, GOODE IS GOOD, WE'RE ALL FAMILY, and a bunch of other happy slogans that pretty much made me want to throw up.**

"You're not the only one," muttered the demigods.

**None of the other freshmen looked thrilled to be here, either. I mean, coming to orientation in June, when school doesn't even start until September, is not cool. But at Goode, "We prepare to excel early!" At least that's what the brochure said.**

**The marching band stopped playing. A guy in a pinstripe suit came to the microphone and started talking, but the sound echoed around the gym so I had no idea what he was saying. He might've been gargling. Someone grabbed my shoulder," What are you doing here?"**

**It was her: my redheaded nightmare.**

"Redheaded nightmare? Dang, I knew that women were scary. But really?" Apollo said.

Getting a slap from his sister and all the other goddesses.

**"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," I said.**

**Her jaw dropped like she couldn't believe I had the nerve to remember her name. "And you're Percy somebody. I didn't get your full name last December when you tried to kill me."**

"He what?" Shouted the Stolls.

"That's right they weren't here to hear that, but I thought she was a skeleton and slashed at her with Riptide," Percy said nonchalant.

**"Look, I wasn't—I didn't—What are you doing here?"**

**"Same as you, I guess. Orientation."**

**"You live in New York?"**

**"What, you thought I lived at the Hoover Dam?"**

**It had never occurred to me. Whenever I thought about her(and I'm not saying I thought about her; she just like crossed my mind from time to time, okay?), I always figured she lived in the Hoover Dam area, since that's where I'd met her. We'd spent maybe ten minutes together, during which time I'd accidentally swung a sword at her, she'd saved my life, and I'd run away chased by a band of supernatural killing machines. You know, your typical chance meeting.**

"Yeah, a very typical first meeting." Thalia said sarcastically.

**Some guy behind us whispered, "Hey, shut up. The cheerleaders are talking!"**

**"Hi, guys!" a girl bubbled into the microphone. It was the blonde I'd seen at the entrance. "My name is Tammi, and this is like, Kelli." Kelli did a cartwheel.**

**Next to me, Rachel yelped like someone had stuck her with a pin.**

Percy shrugged, "They kind of did."

He got some questioned glances.

Annabeth said, "Clear sighted."

**A few kids looked over and snickered, but Rachel just stared at the cheerleaders in horror. Tammi didn't seem to notice the outburst. She started talking about all the great ways we could get involved during our freshman year.**

**"Run," Rachel told me. "Now."**

**"Why?"**

**Rachel didn't explain. She pushed her way to the edge of the bleachers, ignoring the frowning teachers and grumbling kids she was stepping on. I hesitated. Tammi was explaining how we were about to break into small groups and tour the school. Kelli caught my eye and gave me an amused smile, like she was waiting to see what I'd do. It would look bad if I left right now. Paul Blofis was down there with the rest of the teachers. He'd wonder what was wrong.**

**Then I thought about Rachel Elizabeth Dare,**

"Why do you keep saying her whole name?" Thalia questioned her cousin.

All the replied she got was a shrug. Percy didn't know himself.

**and the special ability she'd shown last winter at Hoover Dam. She'd been able to see a group of security guards who weren't guards at all, who weren't even human. My heart pounding, I got up and followed her out of the gym.**

**I found Rachel in the band room. She was hiding behind a bass drum in the percussion section.**

**"Get over here!" she said. "Keep your head down!"**

**I felt pretty silly hiding behind a bunch of bongos, but I crouched down beside her.**

**"Did they follow you?" Rachel asked.**

**"You mean the cheerleaders?"**

**She nodded nervously.**

**"I don't think so," I said. "What are they? What did you see?"**

**Her green eyes were bright with fear. She had a sprinkle of freckles on her face that reminded me of constellations.**

**Her maroon T-shirt read HARVARD ART DEPT. "You…you wouldn't believe me."**

**"Oh, yeah, I would," I promised. "I know you can see through the Mist."**

"Just reveal all our secrets, why don't you?" Athena said sarcastically.

**"The what?"**

**"The Mist. It's…well, it's like this veil that hides the way things really are. Some mortals are born with the ability to see through it. Like you."**

**She studied me carefully. "You did that at Hoover Dam. You called me a mortal. Like you're not."**

**I felt like punching a bongo. What was I thinking? I could never explain. I shouldn't even try.**

"But you're going to anyway, aren't you?" Nico asked.

Percy just smiled sheepishly.

**"Tell me," she begged. "You know what it means. All these horrible things I see?"**

**"Look, this is going to sound weird. Do you know anything about Greek myths?"**

**"Like…the Minotaur and the Hydra?"**

**"Yeah, just try not to say those names when I'm around, okay?"**

**"And the Furies," she said, warming up. "And the Sirens, and—"**

**"Okay!" I looked around the band hall, sure that Rachel was going to make a bunch of bloodthirsty nasties pop out of the walls; but we were still alone. Down the hallway, I heard a mob of kids coming out of the gymnasium. They were starting the group tours. We didn't have long to talk.**

**"All those monsters," I said, "All the Greek gods—they're real."**

**"I knew it!"**

**I would've been more comfortable if she'd called me a liar, but Rachel looked like I'd just confirmed her worst suspicion.**

**"You don't know how hard it's been," she said. "For years I thought I was going crazy. I couldn't tell anybody. I couldn't—" Her eyes narrowed.**

**"Wait. Who are you? I mean really?"**

**"I'm not a monster."**

**"Well, I know that. I could see if you were. You look like…you. But you're not human, are you?"**

**I swallowed. Even though I'd had three years to get used to who I was, I'd never talked about it with a regular mortal before—I mean, except for my mom, but she already knew. I don't know why, but I took the plunge.**

**"I'm a half-blood," I said. "I'm half human."**

**"And half what?"**

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Hades said.

**Just then Tammi and Kelli stepped into the band room. The doors slammed shut behind them.**

**"There you are, Percy Jackson," Tammi said. "It's time for your orientation."**

**"They're horrible!" Rachel gasped.**

**Tammi and Kelli were still wearing their purple-and-white cheerleader costumes, holding pom-poms from the rally.**

**"What do they really look like?" I asked, but Rachel seemed too stunned to answer.**

**"Oh, forget her." Tammi gave me a brilliant smile and started walking toward us. Kelli stayed by the doors, blocking our exit. They'd trapped us. I knew we'd have to fight our way out, but Tammi's smile was so dazzling it distracted me. Her blue eyes were beautiful, and the way her hair swept over her shoulders…**

"Percy," Nico said threatening.

"Just listen, you understand why after," Percy said.

Kissing him, knowing full and well if he did that, Nico wouldn't remember why he was annoyed or angry at him.

It worked.

**"Percy," Rachel warned.**

**I said something really intelligent like, "Uhhh?"**

**Tammi was getting closer. She held out her pom-poms.**

**"Percy!" Rachel's voice seemed to be coming from a long way away.**

**"Snap out of it!"**

**It took all my will power, but I got my pen out of my pocket and uncapped it. Riptide grew into a three-foot-long bronze sword, its blade glowing with a faint golden light. Tammi's smile turned to a sneer.**

**"Oh, come on," she protested. "You don't need that. How about a kiss instead?"**

**She smelled like roses and clean animal fur—a weird but somehow intoxicating smell.**

**Rachel pinched my arm, hard. "Percy, she wants to bite you! Look at her!"**

Nico's eyes widened at realizing that it was an empousai, and turned to Percy. "You can't just take a break can you?"

Percy just smiled sheepishly, replying, "Not really."

**"She's just jealous," Tammi looked back at Kelli. "May I, mistress?"**

**Kelli was still blocking the door, licking her lips hungrily. "Go ahead, Tammi. You're doing fine."**

**Tammi took another step forward, but I levelled the tip of my sword at her chest. "Get back."**

**She snarled. "Freshmen," she said with disgust. "This is our school, half-blood. We feed on whom we choose!"**

"No you won't," Poseidon and Nico said threatening and deadly.

**Then she began to change. The colour drained out of her face and arms. Her skin turned as white as chalk, her eyes completely red. Her teeth grew into fangs.**

**"A vampire!" I stammered.**

"Close." Zeus voiced.

**Then I noticed her legs. Below the cheerleader skirt, her left leg was brown and shaggy with a donkey's hoof. Her right leg was shaped like a human leg, but it was made of bronze. "Uhh, a vampire with—"**

**"Don't mention the legs!" Tammi snapped. "It's rude to make fun!"**

**She advanced on her weird, mismatched legs. She looked totally bizarre, especially with the pom-poms, but I couldn't laugh—not facing those red eyes and sharp fangs.**

**"A vampire, you say?" Kelli laughed. "That silly legend was based on us, you fool. We are empousai, servants of Hecate."**

**"Mmmm." Tammi edged closer to me. "Dark magic formed us from animal, bronze, and ghost! We exist to feed on the blood of young men. Now come, give me that kiss!"**

**She bared her fangs. I was so paralysed I couldn't move, but Rachel threw a snare drum at the empousai's head.**

**The demon hissed and batted the drum away. It went rolling along the aisles between music stands, its springs rattling against the drumhead. Rachel threw a xylophone, but the demon just swatted that away, too.**

**"I don't usually kill girls," Tammi growled. "But for you, mortal, I'll make an exception. Your eyesight is a little too good!"**

**She lunged at Rachel.**

**"No!" I slashed with Riptide. Tammi tried to dodge my blade, but I sliced straight through her cheerleader uniform, and with a horrible wail she exploded into dust all over Rachel.**

"That seemed a little too easy," Athena commented.

"It appears to be that our young Perseus' powers have developed over the years." Zeus said, fully knowing the Percy would become a good ally in a battle.

**Rachel coughed. She looked like she'd just had a sack of flour dumped on her head. "Gross!"**

**"Monsters do that," I said. "Sorry."**

**"You killed my trainee!" Kelli yelled. "You need a lesson in school spirit, half-blood!"**

**Then she too began to change. Her wiry hair turned into flickering flames. Her eyes turned red. She grew fangs. She loped toward us, her brass foot and hoof clopping unevenly on the band-room floor.**

**"I am senior empousai," she growled. "No hero has bested me in a thousand years."**

**"Yeah?" I said. "Then you're overdue!"**

Ares shook his head "Bad comeback, punk."

**Kelli was a lot faster than Tammi. She dodged my first strike and rolled into the brass section, knocking over a row of trombones with a mighty crash. Rachel scrambled out of the way. I put myself between her and the empousa. Kelli circled us, her eyes going from me to the sword.**

**"Such a pretty little blade," she said. "What a shame it stands between us."**

**Her form shimmered—sometimes a demon, sometimes a pretty cheerleader. I tried to keep my mind focused, but it was really distracting.**

**"Poor dear." Kelli chuckled. "You don't even know what's happening, do you? Soon, your pretty little camp in flames, your friends made slaves to the Lord of Time,and there's nothing you can do to stop it. It would be merciful to end your life now, before you have to see that."**

**From down the hall, I heard voices. A tour group was approaching. A man was saying something about locker combinations.**

**The empousai's eyes lit up. "Excellent! We're about to have company!"**

"Uh, oh." Was the only comment.

**She picked up a tuba and threw it at me. Rachel and I ducked. The tuba sailed over our heads and crashed through the window. The voices in the hall died down.**

**"Percy!" Kelli shouted, pretending to be scared, "why did you throw that?"**

**I was too surprised to answer. Kelli picked up a music stand and swiped a row of clarinets and flutes. Chairs and musical instruments crashed to the floor.**

**"Stop it!" I said.**

**People were tromping down the hall now, coming in our direction.**

**"Time to greet our visitors!" Kelli bared her fangs and ran for the doors. I charged after her with Riptide. I had to stop her from hurting the mortals.**

**"Percy, don't!" Rachel shouted. But I hadn't realized what Kelli was up to until it was too late.**

**Kelli flung open the doors. Paul Blofis and a bunch of freshmen stepped back in shock. I raised my sword.**

**At the last second, the empousa turned toward me like a cowering victim.**

**"Oh no, please!" she cried. I couldn't stop my blade. It was already in motion.**

**Just before the celestial bronze hit her, Kelli exploded into flames like a Molotov cocktail. Waves of fire splashed over everything. I'd never seen a monster do that before, but I didn't have time to wonder about it. I backed into the band room as the flames engulfed the doorway.**

**"Percy?" Paul Blofis looked completely stunned, staring at me from across the fire. "What have you done?"**

"Nothing yet," Hades commented.

**Kids screamed and ran down the hall. The fire alarm wailed. Ceiling sprinklers hissed to life.**

**In the chaos, Rachel tugged on my sleeve. "You have to get out of here!"**

**She was right. The school was in flames and I'd be held responsible. Mortals couldn't see through the Mist properly. To them it would look like I'd just attacked a helpless cheerleader in front of a group of witnesses.**

**"Stupid mist," Hermes muttered.**

**There was no way I could explain it. I turned from Paul and sprinted for the broken band room window.**

**I burst out of the alley onto East 81st and ran straight into Annabeth.**

**"Hey, you're out early!" she laughed, grabbing my shoulders to keep me from tumbling into the street. "Watch where you're going, Seaweed Brain."**

**For a split second she was in a good mood and everything was fine. She was wearing jeans and an orange camp T-shirt and her clay bead necklace. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her grey eyes sparkled. She looked like she was ready to catch a movie, have a cool afternoon hanging out together.**

**Then Rachel Elizabeth Dare, still covered in monster dust, came charging out of the alley, yelling, "Percy, wait up!"**

"You're in trouble now, Perce." Thalia commented.

**Annabeth's smile melted. She stared at Rachel, then at the school. For the first time, she seemed to notice the black smoke and ringing fire alarms. She frowned at me. "What did you do this time?And who is this?"**

**"Oh, Rachel—Annabeth. Annabeth—Rachel. Um, she's a friend, I guess."**

**I wasn't sure what else to call Rachel. I mean, I barely knew her, but after being in two life-or-death situations together, I couldn't just call her anybody.**

**"Hi," Rachel said. Then she turned to me. "You are in so much trouble. And you still owe me an explanation!"**

**Police sirens wailed on FDR Drive.**

**"Percy," Annabeth said coldly. "We should go."**

**"I want to know more about half-bloods," Rachel insisted. "And monsters. And this stuff about the gods." She grabbed my arm, whipped out a permanent marker, and wrote a phone number on my hand. "You're going to call me and explain, okay? You owe me that. Now get going."**

**"But—"**

**"I'll make up some story," Rachel said. "I'll tell them it wasn't your fault. Just go!"**

"Wonder what she said, " said Thalia.

**She ran back toward the school, leaving Annabeth and me in the street.**

**"Hey!" I jogged after her. "There were these two empousai," I tried to explain. "They were cheerleaders, see, and they said camp was going to burn, and—"**

**"You told a mortal girl about half-bloods?"**

"He's trying to tell her that their home is going to be burnt and she only cares about that girl, totally jealous." Aphrodite said.

"Maybe at the time, but not anymore," Annabeth said, not wanting to face Nico's glare or possibly his wrath.

**"She can see through the Mist. She saw the monsters before I did."**

**"So you told her the truth?"**

**"She recognized me from Hoover Dam, so—"**

**"You've met her before?"**

**"Um, last winter. But seriously, I barely know her."**

**"She's kind of cute."**

**"I—I never thought about it."**

**Annabeth kept walking toward York Avenue.**

**"I'll deal with the school," I promised, anxious to change the subject.**

**"Honest, it'll be fine."**

**Annabeth wouldn't even look at me. "I guess our afternoon is off. We should get you out of here, now that the police will be searching for you."**

**Behind us, smoke billowed up from Goode High School. In the dark column of ashes, I thought I could almost see a face—a she-demon with red eyes, laughing at me.**

**Your pretty little camp in flames, Kelli had said. Your friends made slaves to the Lord of Time.**

**"You're right," I told Annabeth, my heart sinking. "We have to get to Camp Half-Blood. Now."**

"That's the end of the chapter, who wants to read next?" Connor offered.

"I will," Hades replied.

"The next chapter is... "The Underworld Sends Me A Prank Call." He said "Why would I send Percy a prank call?"

"Read to find out brother," Zeus and Poseidon suggested.

But Nico knew why, it was because of Bianca.


	2. Chapter 2

**"The Underworld sends me a Prank Call,"** Hades read.

**Nothing caps off the perfect morning like a long taxi ride with an angry girl.**

"That I can very well imagine," Hephaestus muttered.

**I tried to talk to Annabeth, but she was acting like I'd just punched her grandmother. All I managed to get out of her was that she'd had a monster infested spring in San Francisco; she'd come back to camp twice since Christmas but wouldn't tell me why (which kind of ticked me off, because she hadn't even told me she was in New York);and she'd learned nothing about the whereabouts of Nico di Angelo (long story).**

**"Any word on Luke?" I asked.**

Hermes then perked up at the mention of his son's name.

**She shook her head. I knew this was a touchy subject for her. Annabeth had always admired Luke, the former head counsellor for Hermes who had betrayed us and joined the evil Titan Lord Kronos. She wouldn't admit it, but I knew she still liked him.**

Nico didn't say anything. You could hear a huff from him, which made Percy roll his eyes at him. You'd think he'd get over it since he already knew that he was Percy's one and only.

**When we'd fought Luke on Mount Tamalpais last winter, he'd somehow survived a fifty-foot fall off a cliff.**

"I wonder if I could survive that?" Percy whispered, so only the demigods could hear.

"I'd rather not find out," Nico whispered back.

**Now, as far as I knew, he was still sailing around on his demon-infested cruise ship while his chopped-up Lord Kronos' re-formed, bit by bit, in a golden sarcophagus, biding his time until he had enough power to challenge the Olympian gods.**

This made the gods sigh in defeat, they knew he'd come back eventually. They just really hoped it wasn't this soon.

**In demigod-speak, we call this a "problem."**

This got a few strained chuckles, since there was tension in the room.

"Sure is," Hades said.

**"Mount Tam is still overrun with monsters," Annabeth said. "I didn't dare go close, but I don't think Luke is up there. I think I would know if he was."**

**That didn't make me feel much better. "What about Grover?"**

**"He's at camp," she said. "We'll see him today."**

**"Did he have any luck? I mean, with the search for Pan?"**

This brought a smile to Hermes face, 'maybe, just maybe someone would finally find his son.' He thought.

**Annabeth fingered her bead necklace, the way she does when she's worried.**

**"You'll see," she said. But she didn't explain.**

"Like mother, like daughter," Poseidon grumbled. "You people are too wise for your own good."

"You can never be too wise," Athena said seriously.

**As we headed through Brooklyn, I used Annabeth's phone to call my mom. Half-bloods try not to use cell phones if we can avoid it because broadcasting our voices is like sending up a flare to the monsters:****_Here I am! Please eat me now!_**

This got a few snickers because Percy did have a weird perspective of things.

**But I figured this call was important. I left a message on our home voice mail, trying to explain what had happened at Goode. I probably didn't do a very good job. I told my mom I was fine, she shouldn't worry, but I was going to stay at camp until things cooled down. I asked her to tell Paul Blofis I was sorry.**

"How did you tell him without him freaking out?" Thalia asked.

Percy smirked and said, "That's for me to know and you to find out."

**We rode in silence after that. The city melted away until we were off the expressway and rolling through the countryside of northern Long Island, past orchards and wineries and fresh produce stands.**

**I stared at the phone number Rachel Elizabeth Dare had scrawled on my hand. I knew it was crazy, but I was tempted to call her.**

Percy glanced at Nico nervously, not sure what his reaction was going to be. Surprisingly he looked calm, not glaring or even an agitated look on his face. _'Maybe he didn't hear what the book said,'_ Percy thought in silent relief.

Nico did alright, but he wasn't going to show it, since he knew he'd probably get a scolding from his boyfriend if he did. But he was definitely aggravated about it.

**Maybe she could help me understand what the ****_empousa _****had been talking about—the camp burning, my friends imprisoned. And why had Kelli exploded into flames?**

"Yeah, if she would even speak to me," Percy muttered.

**I knew monsters never truly died. Eventually—maybe weeks, months, or years from now—Kelli would re-form out of the primordial nastiness seething in the Underworld. But still, monsters didn't usually let themselves get destroyed so easily. If she really ****_was _****destroyed.**

"More powerful they are, the harder they're to kill Perseus," Athena said.

**The taxi exited on Route 25A. We headed through the woods along the North Shore until a low ridge of hills appeared on our left. Annabeth told the driver to pull over on Farm Road 3.141, at the base of Half-Blood Hill.**

**The driver frowned. "There ain't nothing here, miss. You sure you want out?"**

**"Yes, please," Annabeth handed him a roll of mortal cash, and the driver decided not to argue.**

**Annabeth and I hiked to the crest of the hill. The young guardian dragon was dozing, coiled around the pine tree, but he lifted his coppery head as we approached and let Annabeth scratch under his chin. Steam hissed out his nostrils like from a teakettle, and he went cross-eyed with pleasure.**

**"Hey, Peleus," Annabeth said. "Keeping everything safe?"**

**The last time I'd seen the dragon he'd been six feet long.**

"And he was five times longer than that last time we saw him," The Stolls' commented.

**Now he was at least twice that, and as thick around as the tree itself. Above his head, on the lowest branch of the pine tree, the Golden Fleece shimmered, its magic protecting the camp's borders from invasion. The dragon seemed relaxed, like everything was okay. Below us, Camp Half-Blood looked peaceful—**

"For now," Thalia mumbled.

**green fields, forest, and shiny white Greek buildings. The four-story farmhouse we called the Big House sat proudly in the midst of the strawberry fields. To the north, past the beach, the Long Island Sound glittered in the sunlight.**

**Still…something felt wrong.**

"Yeah," Ares rolled his eyes, "Camp is never peaceful. Never. It's not supposed to be.

"Well, with all of your children running around, I'm sure chaos will be restored momentarily," Hera said, glaring at the God of War accusingly.

**There was tension in the air, as if the hill itself were holding its breath, waiting for something bad to happen.**

**We walked down into the valley and found the summer session in full swing. Most of the campers had arrived last Friday, so I already felt out of it.**

**The satyrs were playing their pipes in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow with woodland magic. Campers were having flying horseback lessons, swooping over the woods on their pegasi. Smoke rose from the forges, and hammers rang as kids made their own weapons for Arts & Crafts. The Athena and Demeter teams were having a chariot race around the track, and over at the canoe lake some kids in a Greek trireme were fighting a large orange sea serpent. A typical day at camp.**

**"I need to talk to Clarisse," Annabeth said.**

Nico and Thalia raised their eyebrows at Annabeth, as did several of the gods.

**"Why do you need to talk to her?" They asked.**

**The only response they got was, "You'll see."**

**I stared at her as if she'd just said ****_I need to eat a large, smelly boot_****.**

Which got snickers from everyone, but Ares, just huffed at that.

**"What for?"**

**Clarisse from the Ares cabin was one of my least favorite people.**

**She was a mean, ungrateful bully. Her dad, the war god, wanted to kill me. She tried to beat me to a pulp on a regular basis. Other than that, she was just great.**

"Yeah right," The Stolls muttered.

"That's because you prank their cabin all the time," Thalia said, as if it was obvious.

"True," they replied and shrugged their shoulders, then smirked as if remembering a prank they did.

**"We've been working on something," Annabeth said. "I'll see you later."**

**"Working on what?"**

**Annabeth glanced toward the forest.**

**"I'll tell Chiron you're here," she said. "He'll want to talk to you before the hearing."**

**"What hearing?"**

**But she jogged down the path toward the archery field without looking back.**

**"Yeah," I muttered. "Great talking with you, too."**

**As I made my way through camp, I said hi to some of my friends. In the Big House's driveway, Connor and Travis Stoll from the Hermes cabin were hot-wiring the camps SUV. Silena Beauregard, the head counsellor for Aphrodite, waved at me from her Pegasus as she flew past. I looked for Grover, but I didn't see him. Finally I wandered into the sword arena, where I usually go when I'm in a bad mood. Practicing always calms me down.**

"You're not the only one," muttered Nico, and Thalia, who looked at each other in horror at saying the same thing simultaneously, making Percy laugh at their expense.

Then Nico grumbled, "It's not funny, I'd rather not get electrocuted into a crisp by our dear cousin."

At this comment, everyone started laughing.

**Maybe that's because swordplay is one thing I can actually understand.**

**I walked into the amphitheatre and my heart almost stopped. In the middle of the arena floor, with its back to me, was the biggest hellhound I'd ever seen.**

"So this is when you meet Mrs. O'Leary?" Thalia asked questioningly.

"Yep," Percy smiled, much to the Olympians confusion. _'Why would there be a hellhound there and why wasn't it already killed?'_

**I mean, I've seen some pretty big hellhounds. One the size of a rhino tried to kill me when I was twelve.**

**But ****_this _****hellhound was bigger than a tank. I had no idea how it had gotten past the camp's magic boundaries. It looked right at home, lying on its belly, growling contentedly as it chewed the head off a combat dummy. It hadn't noticed me yet, but if I made a sound, I knew it would sense me. There was no time to go for help. I pulled out Riptide and uncapped it.**

**"Yaaaaah!" I charged. I brought down the blade on the monster's enormous backside when out of nowhere another sword blocked my strike.**

**_CLANG!_**

**The hellhound pricked up its ears.****_"WOOF!"_**

**I jumped back and instinctively struck at the swordsman—a gray-haired man in Greek armour. He parried my attack with no problem.**

**"Whoa there!" he said. "Truce!"**

**"****_WOOF!"_****The hellhound's bark shook the arena.**

**"That's a hellhound!" I shouted.**

**"She's harmless," the man said. "That's Mrs. O'Leary."**

"Harmless only to people she likes, I'm sure," Hestia smiled.

"Definitely," Percy and Nico chuckled.

**I blinked. "Mrs. O'Leary?"**

**At the sound of her name, the hellhound barked again. I realized she wasn't angry. She was excited. She nudged the soggy, badly chewed target dummy toward the swordsman.**

**"Good girl," the man said. With his free hand he grabbed the armoured manikin by the neck and heaved it toward the bleachers. "Get the Greek! Get the Greek!"**

**Mrs. O'Leary bounded after her prey and pounced on the dummy, flattening its armor. She began chewing on its helmet.**

**The swordsman smiled dryly. He was in his fifties.**

"Yeah right," Nico muttered sarcastically.

**I guess, with short gray hair and a clipped gray beard. He was in good shape for an older guy.**

**He wore black mountain-climbing pants and a bronze breastplate strapped over an orange camp T-shirt. At the base of his neck was a strange mark, a purplish blotch like a birthmark or a tattoo, but before I could make out what it was, he shifted his armor straps and the mark disappeared under his collar.**

**"Mrs. O'Leary is my pet," he explained. "I couldn't let you stick a sword in her rump, now, could I? That might have scared her."**

**"Who are you?"**

**"Promise not to kill me if I put my sword away?"**

**"I guess."**

**He sheathed his sword and held out his hand. "Quintus."**

**I shook his hand. It was as rough as sandpaper.**

**"Percy Jackson," I said. "Sorry about—How did you, um—"**

**"Get a hellhound for a pet? Long story, involving many close calls with a death and quite a few giant chew toys. I'm the new sword instructor, by the way. Helping out Chiron while Mr. D is away."**

**"Oh." I tried not to stare as Mrs. O'Leary ripped off the target dummy's shield with the arm still attached and shook it like a Frisbee.**

**"Wait, Mr. D is away?"**

**"Yes, well…busy times. Even Dionysus must help out. He's gone to visit some old friends. Make sure they're on the right side. I probably shouldn't say more than that."**

**If Dionysus was gone, that was the best news I'd had all day.**

Dionysus then glared murderously at him.

"Wouldn't you be glad to get away from Camp?" Nico asked Dionysus, trying to brighten things so the wine god wouldn't vaporize Percy.

Dionysus pondered this for a moment, "True."

Percy smiled at Nico and muttered, "Thanks, Neeks."

Nico smirked smugly and whispered, "Does that mean I get a kiss?"

Percy rolled his eyes but kissed him gently and lovingly on the lips, effectively making Nico want to melt.

**He was only our camp director because Zeus had sent him here as a punishment for chasing some off-limits wood nymph. He hated the campers and tried to make our lives miserable. With him away, this summer might actually be cool. On the other hand, if Dionysus had gotten off his butt and actually started helping the gods recruit against the Titan threat, things must be looking pretty bad.**

**Off to my left, there was a loud ****_BUMP_****. Six wooden crates the size of picnic tables were stacked nearby, and they were rattling. Mrs. O'Leary cocked her head and bounded toward them.**

**"Whoa, girl!" Quintus said. "Those aren't for you." He distracted her with the bronze shield Frisbee.**

**The crates thumped and shook. There were words printed on the sides, but with my dyslexia they took me a few minutes to decipher:**

**TRIPLE G RANCH**

Apollo perked up a little at the mention of his ranch.

"Oh great, just great" Nico grumbled, that ranch was just what they needed in this story at this moment.

**FRAGILE**

**THIS END UP**

**Along the bottom, in smaller letters: OPEN WITH CARE. TRIPLE G RANCH IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE, MAIMING, OR EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL DEATHS.**

**"What's in the boxes?" I asked.**

"You'll see," was the only reply, making the Olympians groan. They wanted to know what was happening.

And from the looks on the demigods, with the exception of Nico, it was not good.

**"A little surprise," Quintus said. "Training activity for tomorrow night. You'll love it."**

**"Uh, okay," I said, though I wasn't sure about the "excruciatingly painful death" part.**

**Quintus threw the bronze shield, and Mrs. O'Leary lumbered after it.**

**"You young ones need more challenges. They didn't have camps like this when I was a boy."**

"He's a half-blood!" Athena exclaimed.

**"You—you're a half-blood?" I didn't mean to sound surprised, but I'd never seen an old demigod before.**

"It's rather impressive," Thalia commented, "Who is this guy?"

"I've never heard of a 'Quintus'," Athena said while she narrowed her eyes. Percy glanced at Nico. Though was very ironic that it was indeed Athena saying that she had never heard of him.

Nico nodded, guessing his thoughts. Ironic was definitely right.

**Quintus chuckled. "Some of us ****_do _****survive into adulthood, you know. Not all of us are the subjects of terrible prophecies."**

**"You know about my prophecy?"**

**"I've heard a few things."**

**I wanted to ask********_what _****few things, but just then Chiron clip-clopped into the arena. "Percy, there you are!"**

**He must've just come from teaching archery. He had a quiver and bow slung over his #1 CENTAUR T-shirt.**

There were a few chuckles at this.

**He'd trimmed his curly brown hair and beard for the summer, and his lower half, which was a white stallion, was flecked with mud and grass.**

**"I see you've met our new instructor." Chiron's tone was light, but there was an uneasy look in his eyes.**

"Even Chiron is nervous," Athena frowned, "Things must be dire."

"We all have learned to be suspicious at camp, because we knew someone had to be betraying us," Percy explained tightly. Thinking about an unsafe Camp Half-Blood was like thinking of a good tasting vegetable; impossible, and slightly horrifying.

Demeter who heard his thoughts, narrowed her eyes at him.

Percy then smiled sheepishly.

**"Quintus, do you mind if I borrow Percy?"**

**"Not at all, Master Chiron."**

"Oh, he's going to like that," commented Hermes.

**"No need to call me 'Master'," Chiron said, though he sounded sort of pleased.**

"Told yah."

Everyone rolled their eyes, but glad that Hermes was being his cheerful self for now.

**"Come, Percy. We have much to discuss."**

**I took one more glance at Mrs. O'Leary, who was now chewing off the target dummy's legs.**

**"Well, see you," I told Quintus.**

**As we were walking away, I whispered to Chiron, "Quintus seemed kind of—"**

**"Mysterious?" Chiron suggested. "Hard to read?"**

**"Yeah."**

**Chiron nodded. "A very qualified half-blood. Excellent swordsman, I just wish I understood…"**

**Whatever he was going to say, he apparently changed his mind. "First things first, Percy. Annabeth told me you met some********_empousai_****."**

**"Yeah." I told him about the fight at Goode, and how Kelli had exploded into flames.**

"She was very powerful," Zeus mused.

**"Mm," Chiron said. "The more powerful ones can do that. She did not die, Percy. She simply escaped. It is not good that the she-demons are stirring."**

**"What were they doing there?" I asked. "Waiting for me?"**

**"Possibly," Chiron frowned. "It is amazing you survived. Their powers of deception…almost any male hero would've fallen under their spell and been devoured."**

**"I would've been," I admitted. "Except for Rachel."**

**Chiron nodded. "Ironic to be saved by a mortal, yet we owe her a debt. What the ****_empousa _****said about an attack on camp—we must speak of this further. But for now, come, we should get to the woods. Grover will want you there."**

**"Where?"**

**"At his formal hearing," Chiron said grimly. "The Council of Cloven Elders is meeting now to decide his fate."**

**Chiron said we needed to hurry, so I let him give me a ride on his back.**

**As we galloped past the cabins, I glanced at the dining hall—an open-air Greek pavilion on a hill overlooking the sea. It was the first time I'd seen the place since last summer, and it brought back bad memories.**

This earned a few raising eyebrows, them not being sure what exactly it was talking about. Nico looked at Percy sheepishly before whispering, "Sorry."

"Nico, quit apologizing. I told you, you were forgiven."

**Chiron plunged into the woods. Nymphs peeked out of the trees to watch us pass. Large shapes rustled in the shadows—monsters that were stocked in here as a challenge to the campers.**

**I thought I knew the forest pretty well after playing capture the flag here for two summers, but Chiron took me a way I didn't recognize, through a tunnel of old willow trees, past a little waterfall, and into a glade blanketed with wildflowers.**

**A bunch of satyrs were sitting in a circle in the grass. Grover stood in the middle, facing three really old, really fat satyrs who sat on topiary thrones shaped out of rose bushes. I'd never seen the three old satyrs before, but I guessed they must be the Council of Cloven Elders.**

**Grover seemed to be telling them a story. He twisted the bottom of his Tshirt, shifting nervously on his goat hooves. He hadn't changed much since last winter, maybe because satyrs age half as fast as humans. His acne had flared up. His horns had gotten a little bigger so they just stuck out over his curly hair. I realized with a start that I was taller than he was now.**

**Standing off to one side of the circle were Annabeth, another girl I'd never seen before, and Clarisse. Chiron dropped me next to them.**

**Clarisse's stringy brown hair was tied back with a camouflage bandanna.**

**If possible, she looked even buffer, like she'd been working out.**

**She glared at me and muttered, "Punk," which must've meant she was in a good mood.**

**Usually she says hello by trying to kill me.**

Ares chuckled at that. Naturally his children would try to kill him.

**Annabeth had her arm around the other girl, who looked like she'd been crying. She was small—petite, I guess you'd call it—with wispy hair the color of amber and a pretty, elfish face. She wore a green chiton and laced sandals, and she was dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. "It's going terribly," she sniffled.**

**"No, no," Annabeth patted her shoulders. "He'll be fine, Juniper."**

**Annabeth looked at me and mouthed the words********_Grover's girlfriend_****.**

"Cute!" Aphrodite beamed.

**At least I thought that's what she said, but that didn't make any with a girlfriend?**

"Wow, goat boy had someone before you did Kelp Head," Thalia teased.

"HEY!" Yelled Nico and Percy simultaneously.

**Then I looked at Juniper more closely, and I realized her ears were slightly pointed. Her eyes, instead of being red from crying, were tinged green, the color of chlorophyll. She was a tree nymph— a dryad.**

**"Master Underwood!" the council member on the right shouted, cutting off whatever Grover was trying to say. "Do you seriously expect us to believe this?"**

**"B-but Silenus," Grover stammered. "It's the truth!"**

**The Council guy, Silenus, turned to his colleagues and muttered something. Chiron cantered up to the front and stood next to them. I remembered he was an honorary member of the council, but I'd never thought about it much. The elders didn't look very impressive. They reminded me of the goats in a petting zoo—huge bellies, sleepy expressions, and glazed eyes that couldn't see past the next handful of goat chow. I wasn't sure why Grover seemed so nervous.**

"They are more powerful than they seem, son," Poseidon's lips twitched. Most of the gods (especially Dionysus, who knew these people better than everyone else) were trying not to laugh, but Apollo and, to his brother's delight, Hermes, were rolling on the floor laughing. Percy smiled sheepishly. He knew that now.

**Silenus tugged his yellow polo shirt over his belly and adjusted himself on his rosebush throne. "Master Underwood, for six months—****_six months_****— ****we have been hearing these scandalous claims that you heard the wild god Pan speak."**

**"But I did!"**

**"Impudence!" said the elder on the left.**

**"Now, Maron," Chiron said. "Patience."**

**"Patience, indeed!" Maron said. "I've had it up to my horns with this nonsense. As if the wild god would speak to…to****_him_****."**

**Juniper looked like she wanted to charge the old satyr and beat him up, but Annabeth and Clarisse held her back. "Wrong fight, girlie," Clarisse muttered. "Wait."**

"A daughter of Ares telling someone not to fight," Aphrodite smiled, "Impressive. Not all your children are muscles-for-brains, Ares." The God of War sputtered for a moment, and then just glared at everyone who was laughing at him.

**I don't know what surprised me more: Clarisse holding someone back from a fight, or the fact that she and Annabeth, who despised each other, almost seemed like they were working together.**

"Hmm, they're working on something," Athena reflected, "but what?"

**"For six months," Silenus continued, "we have indulged you, Master Underwood. We let you travel. We allowed you to keep your searcher's license. We waited for you to bring proof of your preposterous claim. And what have you found in six months of travel?"**

**"I just need more time," Grover pleaded.**

**"Nothing!" the elder in the middle chimed in. "You have found nothing."**

**"But, Leneus—"**

**Silenus raised his hand. Chiron leaned in and said something to the satyrs.**

**The satyrs didn't look happy. They muttered and argued among themselves, but Chiron said something else, and Silenus sighed. He nodded reluctantly.**

**"Master Underwood," Silenus announced, "we will give you one more chance."**

**Grover brightened. "Thank you!"**

**"One more week."**

**"What? But sir! That's impossible!"**

**"One more week, Master Underwood. And then, if you cannot prove your claims, it will be time for you to pursue another career. Something to suit your dramatic talents. Puppet theater, perhaps. Or tap dancing."**

**"But sir, I—I can't lose my searcher's license. My whole life—"**

**"This meeting of the council is adjourned," Silenus said. "And now let us enjoy our noonday meal!"**

**The old satyr clapped his hands, and a bunch of nymphs melted out of the trees with platters of vegetables, fruits, tin cans, and other goat delicacies.**

**The circle of satyrs broke and charged the food. Grover walked dejectedly toward us. His faded blue T-shirt had a picture of a satyr on it. It read GOT HOOVES?**

**"Hi, Percy," he said, so depressed he didn't even offer to shake my hand. "That went well, huh?"**

"Sure did," Thalia muttered sarcastically.

**"Those old goats!" Juniper said. "Oh, Grover, they don't know how hard you've tried!"**

**"There is another option," Clarisse said darkly.**

**"No. No." Juniper shook her head. "Grover, I won't let you."**

**His face was ashen. "I—I'll have to think about it. But we don't even know where to look."**

**"What are you talking about?" I asked.**

**In the distance, a conch horn sounded.**

"But I want to know," Thalia groaned, as did the other Olympians. Thalia hated not knowing any of this.

**Annabeth pursed her lips. "I'll fill you in later, Percy. We'd better get back to our cabins. Inspection is starting."**

**It didn't seem fair that I'd have to do cabin inspection when I just got to camp, but that's the way it worked. Every afternoon, one of the senior counselors came around with a papyrus scroll checklist. Best cabin got first shower hour, which meant hot water guaranteed. Worst cabin got kitchen patrol after dinner.**

**The problem for me: I was usually the only one in the Poseidon cabin, and I'm not exactly what you would call neat. The cleaning harpies only came through on the last day of summer, so my cabin was probably just the way I'd left it on winter break: my candy wrappers and chip bags still on my bunk, my armor for capture the flag lying in pieces all around the cabin.**

**I raced toward the commons area, where the twelve cabins—one for each Olympian god—made a U around the central green. The Demeter kids were sweeping out theirs and making fresh flowers grow in their window boxes.**

**Just by snapping their fingers they could make honeysuckle vines bloom over their doorway and daisies cover their roof, which was totally unfair. I don't think they ever got last place in inspection.**

"Nope," Demeter said, smiling with pride.

**The guys in the Hermes cabin were scrambling around in a panic, stashing dirty laundry under their beds and accusing each other of taking stuff. They were slobs, but they still had a head start on me.**

**Over at the Aphrodite cabin, Silena Beauregard was just coming out, checking items off the inspection scroll. I cursed under my breath. Silena was nice, but she was an absolute neat freak, the worst inspector.**

**She liked things to be pretty. I didn't do "pretty."**

"Like father, like son," Athena muttered.

**I could almost feel my arms getting heavy from all the dishes I would have to scrub tonight.**

**The Poseidon cabin was at the end of the row of "male god" cabins on the right side of the green. It was made of gray shell-encrusted sea rock, long and low like a bunker, but it had windows that faced the sea and it always had a good breeze blowing through it.**

**I dashed inside, wondering if maybe I could do a quick under-the-bed cleaning job like the Hermes guys, and I found my half-brother Tyson sweeping the floor.**

"Are you lucky Perce, just imagine all those dishes you'd have to do if he wasn't there." Thalia teased.

Percy groaned, "Don't remind me."

**"Percy!" he bellowed. He dropped his broom and ran at me. If you've never been charged by an enthusiastic Cyclops wearing a flowered apron and rubber cleaning gloves, I'm telling you, it'll wake you up quick.**

There were a few snickers.

Percy and Nico then muttered, "It sure will." making everyone laugh.

"Hold on, how would you know?" Hades asked.

"I'm like a brother to him, since I'm dating Percy," Nico answered.

**"Hey, big guy!" I said. "Ow, watch the ribs. The ribs."**

**I managed to survive his bear hug. He put me down, grinning like crazy, his single calf-brown eye full of excitement. His teeth were as yellow and crooked as ever, and his hair was a rat's nest. He wore ragged XXXL jeans and a tattered flannel shirt under his flowered apron, but he was still a sight for sore eyes. I hadn't seen him in almost a year, since he'd gone under the sea to work at the Cyclopes' forges.**

**"You are okay?" he asked. "Not eaten by monsters?"**

**"Not even a little bit." I showed him that I still had both arms and both legs, and Tyson clapped happily.**

**"Yay!" he said. "Now we can eat peanut butter sandwiches and ride fish ponies! We can fight monsters and see Annabeth and make things go BOOM!"**

This got a few chuckles.

**I hoped he didn't mean all at the same time,**

"That would be fun," Apollo snickered, high-fiving Hermes. He was glad to have his brother back. Depression really didn't suit the messenger god.

**but I told him absolutely, we'd have a lot of fun this summer. I couldn't help smiling; he was so enthusiastic about everything.**

**"But first," I said, "we've gotta worry about inspection. We should…"**

**Then I looked around and realized Tyson had been busy. The floor was swept. The bunk beds were made. The saltwater fountain in the corner had been freshly scrubbed so the coral gleamed. On the windowsills, Tyson had set out water-filled vases with sea anemones and strange glowing plants from the bottom of the ocean; more beautiful than any flower bouquets the Demeter kids could whip up.**

Demeter huffed. She was still proud of her children's work. How were they supposed to compete with exotic ocean specimens?

"Tyson, the cabin looks…amazing!"

**He beamed. "See the fish ponies? I put them on the ceiling!"**

**A herd of miniature bronze hippocampi hung on wires from the ceiling, so it looked like they were swimming through the air. I couldn't believe Tyson, with his huge hands, could make things so delicate. Then I looked over at my bunk, and I saw my old shield hanging on the wall.**

**"You fixed it!"**

**The shield had been badly damaged in a manticore attack last winter. But now it was perfect again—not a scratch. All the bronze pictures of my adventures with Tyson and Annabeth in the Sea of Monsters were polished and gleaming.**

**I looked at Tyson. I didn't know how to thank him.**

"It's easy," Travis said, as though talking to somebody mentally challenged. "Say 'thank' and 'you'. Thank you. Two syllables. Not that hard." Annabeth and Thalia wacked him over the head.

**Then somebody behind me said, "Oh, my."**

**Silena Beauregard was standing in the doorway with her inspection scroll.**

**She stepped into the cabin, did a quick twirl, then raised her eyebrows at me.**

**"Well, I had my doubts. But you clean up nicely, Percy. I'll remember that."**

**She winked at me and left the room.**

**Tyson and I spent the afternoon catching up and just hanging out, which was nice after a morning of getting attacked by demon cheerleaders.**

**We went down to the forge and helped Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin with his metalworking. Tyson showed us how he'd learned to craft magic weapons. He fashioned a flaming double-bladed war axe so fast even Beckendorf was impressed.**

**While he worked, Tyson told us about his year under the sea. His eye lit up when he described the Cyclopes' forges and the palace of Poseidon, but he also told us how tense things were. The old gods of the sea, who'd ruled during Titan times, were starting to make war on our father. When Tyson had left, battles had been raging all over the Atlantic. Hearing that made me feel anxious, like I should be helping out, but Tyson assured me that Dad wanted us both at camp.**

**"Lots of bad people above the sea, too," Tyson said. "We can make them go boom."**

**After the forges, we spent some time at the canoe lake with Annabeth.**

**She was really glad to see Tyson, but I could tell she was distracted. She kept looking over at the forest, like she was thinking about Grover's problem with the council. I couldn't blame her. Grover was nowhere to be seen, and I felt really bad for him. Finding the lost god Pan had been his lifelong goal.**

Hermes smiled.

**His father and his uncle had both disappeared following the same dream.**

**Last winter, Grover had heard a voice in his head:****_I await you—_****a voice he was sure belonged to Pan—**

**but apparently his search had led nowhere. If the council took away his searcher's license now, it would crush him.**

**"What's this 'other way'?" I asked Annabeth. "The thing Clarisse mentioned?"**

**She picked up a stone and skipped it across the lake. "Something Clarisse scouted out. I helped her a little this spring. But it would be dangerous. Especially for Grover."**

**"Goat boy scares me," Tyson murmured.**

"Really?" Thalia looked incredulous, "A Cyclops scared of a stayr?"

**I stared at him. Tyson had faced down fire-breathing bulls and sea monsters and cannibal giants.**

**"Why would you be scared of Grover?"**

**"Hooves and horns," Tyson muttered nervously. "And goat fur makes my nose itchy."**

"Ah," Thalia mumbled.

**And that pretty much ended our Grover conversation.**

**Before dinner, Tyson and I went down to the sword arena. Quintus was glad to have company. He still wouldn't tell me what was in the wooden crates, but he did teach me a few sword moves. The guy was good. He fought the way some people play chess—like he was putting all the moves together and you couldn't see the pattern until he made the last stroke and won with a sword at your throat.**

"Is he a son of yours, Athena?" Artemis asked, looking at her sister.

"No," Athena narrowed her eyes at the book. But the man seemed so familiar too… It was on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't remember.

**"Good try," he told me. "But your guard is too low."**

**He lunged and I blocked.**

**"Have you always been a swordsman?" I asked.**

**He parried my overhead cut. "I've been many things."**

**He jabbed and I sidestepped. His shoulder strap slipped down, and I saw that mark on his neck—the purple blotch. But it wasn't a random mark. It had a definite shape—a bird with folded wings, like a quail or something.**

Athena gasped, sudden rage filling her. She knew who this man was. How dare he even go to that Camp!

"What is it, my daughter?" Zeus asked confused. His daughter's face was a mixture of fury, shock, and bitterness.

"I know who he is," Athena said angrily. "But I can't tell you though, lest it spoil the _surprise_." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. Percy grimaced along with Nico. They knew Athena was justified in her anger. "but, yes, he is one of my sons."

**"What's that on your neck?" I asked, which was probably a rude question, but you can blame my ADHD. I tend to just blurt things out.**

"You would blurt things out even if you weren't ADHD," Nico rolled his eyes. "That's a Percy trait, but it's one of the reasons why I love him."

Percy smiled at that.

"That's a Poseidon trait," Hades corrected his son, "Annoying as all hell too." His brother smirked at him.

Poseidon just huffed while everyone else what snickering at Poseidon's dismay.

**Quintus lost his rhythm. I hit his sword hilt and knocked the blade out of his hand.**

**He rubbed his fingers. Then he shifted his armor to hide the mark. It wasn't a tattoo, I realized. It was an old burn…like he'd been branded.**

**"A reminder." He picked up his sword and forced a smile. "Now, shall we go again?"**

**He pressed me hard, not giving me time for any more questions.**

**While he and I fought, Tyson played with Mrs. O'Leary, who he called the "little doggie."They had a great time wrestling for the bronze shield and playing Get the Greek.**

**By sunset, Quintus hadn't even broken a sweat, which seemed kind of strange; but Tyson and I were hot and sticky, so we hit the showers and got ready for dinner.**

**I was feeling good. It was almost like a normal day at camp. Then dinner came, and all the campers lined up by cabin and marched into the dining pavilion. Most of them ignored the sealed fissure in the marble floor at the entrance—a ten-foot-long jagged scar that hadn't been there last summer— but I was careful to step over it.**

Nico blushed and smiled sheepishly.

**"Big crack," Tyson said when we were at our table. "Earthquake, maybe?"**

"Sorry," Nico said under his breath to Percy. The older boy started to scowl, but then he just shook his head smiling.

**"No," I said. "Not an earthquake."**

**I wasn't sure I should tell him. It was a secret only Annabeth and Grover and I knew. But looking in Tyson's big eye, I knew I couldn't hide it from him.**

**"Nico di Angelo," I said, lowering my voice. "He's this half-blood kid we brought to camp last winter. He, uh…he asked me to guard his sister on a quest, and I failed. She died. Now he blames me."**

Nico looked down at the floor. "Not anymore," he whispered soft enough so nobody heard him.

Percy looked at him, raising his eyebrow and whispered. "You already apologized once, I forgave you. You don't have to keep saying you're sorry."

Nico just nodded.

"Now do I need to keep repeating myself?" Percy asked

Nico only shook his head.

**Tyson frowned. "So he put a crack in the floor?"**

**"These skeletons attacked us," I said. "Nico told them to go away, and the ground just opened up and swallowed them. Nico…" I looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Nico is a son of Hades."**

"Dun dun duuuun," Thalia said dramatically, and Nico glared at her.

"Pinecone face."

"Death breath."

"Lightning Head"

"Dead boy"

"Sparky"

"ENOUGH!" shouted Annabeth, "Quit arguing and be quiet. I swear you're almost as bad as Percy."

"HEY!"

**Tyson nodded thoughtfully. "The god of dead people."**

**"Yeah."**

**"So the Nico boy is gone now?"**

**"I—I guess. I tried to search for him this spring. So did Annabeth. But we didn't have any luck. This is secret, Tyson. Okay? If anyone found out he was a son of Hades, he would be in danger. You can't even tell Chiron."**

**"The bad prophecy," Tyson said. "Titans might use him if they knew."**

**I stared at him. Sometimes it was easy to forget that as big and childlike as he was, Tyson was pretty smart. He knew that the next child of the Big Three gods—Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades—who turned sixteen was prophesied to either save or destroy Mount Olympus. Most people assumed that meant me, but if I died before I turned sixteen, the prophecy could just as easily apply to Nico.**

Nico grimaced. That just made him depressed. He really did not want to be the 'hero of the prophecy'. Not. At. All. (_AN: This isn't a spelling error, it's just to empathize Nico's point_)

**"Exactly," I said. "So—"**

**"Mouth sealed," Tyson promised. "Like the crack in the ground."**

A few demigods and Olympians laughed at that.

**I had trouble falling asleep that night. I lay in bed listening to the waves on the beach, and the owls and monsters in the woods. I was afraid once I drifted off I'd have nightmares.**

**See, for half-bloods, dreams are hardly ever just dreams. We get messages.**

**We glimpse things that are happening to our friends or enemies. Sometimes we even glimpse the past or the future. And at camp, my dreams were always more frequent and vivid.**

**So I was still awake around midnight, staring at the bunk bed mattress above me, when I realized there was a strange light in the room. The saltwater fountain was glowing.**

Nico just grimaced. This must be it. "Is this when you saw me in the IM?" Nico whispered

Percy nodded.

**I threw off the covers and walked cautiously toward it. Steam rose from the hot salt water. Rainbow colors shimmered through it, though there was no light in the room except for the moon outside. Then a pleasant female voice spoke from the steam:****_Please deposit one drachma_****.**

**I looked over at Tyson, but he was still snoring. He sleeps about as heavily as a tranquilized elephant.**

**I didn't know what to think. I'd never gotten a collect Iris-message before.**

**One golden drachma gleamed at the bottom of the fountain. I scooped it up and tossed it through the mist. The coin vanished.**

**"O, Iris, Goddess of the rainbow," I whispered. "Show me…Uh, whatever you need to show me."**

**The mist shimmered. I saw the dark shore of a river. Wisps of fog drifted across black water. The beach was strewn with jagged volcanic rock. A young boy squatted at the riverbank, tending a campfire. The flames burned an unnatural blue color. Then I saw the boy's face. It was Nico di Angelo.**

Everyone glanced at the boy, but he was looking at the floor. He did not want to hear this or even remember that Minos was only using him.

**He was throwing pieces of paper into the fire—Mythomagic trading cards, part of the game he'd been obsessed with last winter.**

"I was not obsessed," Nico grumbled.

Those who knew him at the point, snickered.

"Don't even try to deny it Neeks, you know it's true." Percy commented.

**Nico was only ten, or maybe eleven by now, but he looked older. His hair had grown longer. It was shaggy and almost touched his shoulders. His eyes were dark. His olive skin had turned paler. He wore ripped black jeans and a battered aviator's jacket that was several sizes too big, unzipped over a black shirt. His face was grimy, his eyes a little wild. He looked like a kid who'd been living on the streets.**

**I waited for him to look at me. No doubt he'd get crazy angry, start accusing me of letting his sister die. But he didn't seem to notice me.**

"I didn't even know you were there," Nico said.

Artemis raised her eyebrows, "You didn't send the message?" When the boy shook his head, Athena asked, "Who did?"

They didn't answer him. Not that she expected them to. Figures.

But Nico murmured one word so only his boyfriend could hear, "Bianca."

**I stayed quiet, not daring to move. If he hadn't sent this Iris-message, who had?**

**Nico tossed another trading card into the blue flames. "Useless," he muttered. "I can't believe I ever liked this stuff."**

**"A childish game, master," another voice agreed.**

"Oh shut up," Nico mumbled, his mood plummeting. Stupid ghosts. "You have no freaking right to say that."

"You were thinking it," Apollo pointed out.

"But he had no right to say it."

**It seemed to come from near the fire, but I couldn't see who was talking.**

**Nico stared across the river. On the far shore was black beach shrouded in haze. I recognized it: the Underworld. Nico was camping at the edge of the river Styx.**

**"I've failed," he muttered. "There's no way to get her back."**

**The other voice kept silent.**

**Nico turned toward it doubtfully. "Is there? Speak."**

**Something shimmered. I thought it was just firelight. Then I realized it was the form of a man—a wisp of blue smoke, a shadow. If you looked at him head-on, he wasn't there. But if you looked out of the corner of your eye, you could make out his shape. A ghost.**

"You should not listen to ghosts," Thalia lectured, "They are too biased. They want revenge. They will manipulate you."

Nico grimaced. He knew that too. He was just too shattered over his sister's death to realize it at that time.

**"It has never been done," the ghost said. "But there may be a way."**

**"Tell me," Nico commanded. His eyes shined with a fierce light.**

**"An exchange," the ghost said. "A soul for a soul."**

Everyone's eyes widened, looking at the boy, but Hades kept reading.

**"I've offered!"**

Hades stopped reading. "Are you insane?" Hades roared, looking horrified, "I do not want your soul! You are my son! I would not accept that offer, ever!" Nico's eyes widened and he nodded almost imperceptibly. He wished that he'd known his father felt this way back then. Maybe he wouldn't have reacted the way he had. He was sure that his father had grieved over his sister's death. Maybe if they had grieved together, things might have been different.

Thalia and Percy looked just as irritated, "He took the words right out of my mouth," they grumbled, "Are you mad?"

**"Not yours," the ghost said. "You cannot offer your father a soul he will eventually collect anyway. Nor will he be anxious for the death of his son. I mean a soul that should have died already. Someone who has cheated death."**

**Nico's face darkened. "Not that again. You're talking about murder."**

**"I'm talking about justice," the ghost said. "Vengeance."**

**"Those are not the same thing."**

"And they never will be." Nico set his jaw tenaciously. He wouldn't change his opinion on that. Murder was murder. Hades smiled inwardly._That's my boy. But stubborn as Poseidon's son_.

**The ghost laughed dryly. "You will learn differently as you get older."**

**Nico stared at the flames. "Why can't I at least summon her? I want to talk to her. She would…she would help me."**

"Why don't you talk to me?" Hades asked.

Nico hesitated, "You're… different in the future. We don't see eye to eye on many things." Hades frowned.

**"****_I _****will help you," the ghost promised. "Have I not saved you many times? Did I not lead you through the maze and teach you to use your powers? Do you want revenge for your sister or not?"**

"No," Nico murmured, "I don't. Not really."

**I didn't like the ghost's tone of voice. He reminded me of a kid at my old school, a bully who used to convince other kids to do stupid things like steal lab equipment and vandalize the teachers' cars. The bully never got in trouble himself, but he got tons of other kids suspended.**

**Nico turned from the fire so the ghost couldn't see him, but I could. A tear traced its way down his face.**

Nico grimaced. He hadn't known Percy had seen that. He didn't want anyone to see that. It was hard to that to be read out loud to a room full of gods, but all he saw in their eyes was sadness.

Percy pulled him on his lap, while wrapped his arms around him, placing a kiss on his cheek, successfully making him blush and laugh before saying, "Percy! Quit, we need to finish this chapter."

"You needed cheering up, so no arguments."

Nico just rolled his eyes, but he did cheer him up. He knew that nobody could cheer him up like Percy does. He couldn't even imagine if Percy went missing or died.

**"Very well. You have a plan?"**

**"Oh, yes," the ghost said, sounding quite pleased. "We have many dark roads to travel. We must start—"**

**The image shimmered. Nico vanished. The woman's voice from the mist said,****_Please deposit one drachma for another five minutes._**

"Darn," Athena grimaced. They were so close to figuring out this ghosts plan. If they knew his plan, they might have been able to figure out who he was. She could just as well ask the young boy, but the look on Nico's face said he wasn't going to tell them anything about his time on the run.

**There were no other coins in the fountain. I grabbed for my pockets, but I was wearing pajamas. I lunged for the nightstand to check for spare change, but the Iris-message had already blinked out, and the room went dark again.**

**The connection was broken.**

**I stood in the middle of the cabin, listening to the gurgle of the saltwater fountain and the ocean waves outside.**

**Nico was alive. He was trying to bring his sister back from the dead. And I had a feeling I knew what soul he wanted to exchange—someone who had cheated death. Vengeance.**

"You don't mean _you_, do you?" Nico asked, raising an eyebrow. "I was wondering what made you think I was coming after you."

"Well," Percy replied, "I thought you wanted revenge."

"No. I had to go searching for someone who's 'cheated death', remember?"

"I was more worried about the payback thing. You definitely had a reason."

"I have forgiven you now."

"I know, but not then."

**Nico di Angelo would come looking for me.**

"On that happy, and false, note, that's the end of the chapter," Hades snapped the book shut and Nico yawned before asking, "Can we stop for the day?"

"Yes.," Zeus replied,

And before anything else was said the demigods weren't in the room. Everyone just shrugged and went to bed as well.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** _"Potterheaddemigod," _gave me this idea, which was completely brilliant. And I thank you for giving me this idea. I totally loved it.

-There is going to be some Nico jealousy during this. Hope you all don't mind, I just like the fact that Nico gets jealous so easily-

*And sorry I haven't been on in a while, I've got exams coming up and SOL's and I have to study. Hopefully you don't hate me for not updating for so long, but I promised you that I would not give up this story. It might take a while with everything going on, but it will get done.

~NicoDiAngeloLover7

* * *

Percy woke up with Nico beside him, he yawned before trying to wake him up. "Nico, get up," was said lovingly.

"Don't want to," was the reply.

"For me?" Percy said with a grin.

Nico opened one eye to look at Percy, "Now why would I even do that."

"Because you love me and I'm your boyfriend."

Nico groaned before saying, "Fine only because I want breakfast."

Percy pouted before it turned into a smile. "Will you finally do it with me, we're all alone. And nobody can see us."

Nico glared at him, "No Percy. Not here."

"Come on Nico, we do it all the time in mine or your cabin."

"Fine. Only because I'm sure everyone won't care."

Unknowing to them their fathers were listening to their conversation to see if they were up yet. Poseidon and Hades exchanged glances and opened the door to find them...

playing Mythomagic.

Their dads were struck dumb at the sight. Nico took notice of their presence and said, "Dad? What's wrong."

Hades was glaring at Percy before turning his gaze to his son and losing the glare. "He's hasn't done it with you yet? Has he?"

Nico turned a scarlet red at what his dad was inferring to. "No dad, we have not. So stop glaring at Percy! We were only talking about Mythomagic."

And with that the two gods left with the two boys being to farthest embarrassed in their desently short life.

Nico groaned and layed his head on Percy's shoulder.

"Well that was awkward," Percy suddenly stated.

"You have no idea." Nico's voice was muffled still having his head in Percy shoulder.

"Hey Nico, do you want breakfast."

Nico lifted his head off Percy's shoulder and asked, "Do you have anything in here to eat? I don't want to go out there now."

"Sure, I stole some pancakes out of the kitchen and stored them here. That sound alright?"

"Yeah."

* * *

Percy and Nico walked into the Throne Room, seeing everyone was already there. And that Zeus had the book in his hands.

"Okay father, they're here. Can we start the next chapter," Athena commented.

**"We Play Tag With Scorpians,**" Zeus read.

"One of my worst experience," Percy muttered.

Poseidon looked panicked at the title and the comment by Percy, Nico bit his lip and looked at Percy. Who smiled just smiled at him and took hold of his hand.

**The next morning there was a lot of excitement at breakfast.**

"Wonder why," Demeter commented.

**Apparently around three in the morning an Aethiopian drakon had been spotted at the borders of camp. I was so exhausted I slept right through the noise.**

**The magical boundaries had kept the monster out, but it prowled the hills, looking for weak spots in our defenses, and it didn't seem anxious to go away until Lee Fletcher from Apollo's cabin led a couple of his siblings in pursuit. After a few dozen arrows lodged in the chinks of the drakon's armor, it got the message and withdrew.**

"GO APOLLO CABIN!" Apollo pumped his fist in the air.

Everyone just rolled their eyes at him.

**"It's still out there," Lee warned us during announcements. "Twenty arrows in its hide, and we just made it mad. The thing was thirty feet long and bright green. And it's eyes—" he shuddered.**

**"You did well, Lee," Chiron patted him on the shoulder. "Everyone stay alert, but stay calm. This has happened before."**

**"Aye," Quintus said from the head table. "And it will happen again. More and more frequently."**

"Well, that's really comforting." Thalia said dryly.

**The campers murmured among themselves.**

**Everyone knew the rumors: Luke and his army of monsters were planning an invasion of the camp. Most of us expected it to happen this summer, but no one knew how or when. It didn't help that our attendance was down. We only had about eighty campers. Three years ago, when I'd started, there had been more than a hundred. Some had died.**

A few of the Gods grimaced and the demigods.

**Some had joined Luke. Some had just disappeared.**

**"This is a good reason for new war games, "Quintus continued, a glint in his eyes. "We'll see how you all do with that tonight."**

**"Yes…" Chiron said. "Well, enough announcements. Let us bless this meal and eat." He raised his goblet. "To the gods."**

**We all raised our glasses and repeated the blessing.**

**Tyson and I took our plates to the bronze brazier and scraped a portion of our food into the flames. I hoped the gods liked raisin toast and Fruit Loops.**

**"Poseidon," I said. Then I whispered, "Help me with Nico, and Luke, and Grover's problem…"**

"I will do my best," Poseidon smiled.

**There was so much to worry about I could've stood there all morning, but I headed back to the table.**

**Once everyone was eating, Chiron and Grover came over to visit. Grover was bleary-eyed. His shirt was inside out. He slid his plate onto the table and slumped next to me.**

"Poor Satyr," Hera and Hestia commented.

**Tyson shifted uncomfortably. "I will go…um…polish my fish ponies."**

**He lumbered off, leaving his breakfast half-eaten.**

**Chiron tried for a smile. He probably wanted to look reassuring, but in centaur form he towered over me, casting a shadow across the table. "Well, Percy, how did you sleep?"**

**"Uh, fine." I wondered why he asked that. Was it possible he knew something about the weird Iris-message I'd gotten?**

"Probably not," Annabeth said. "But he can tell that something's bothering you."

**"I brought Grover over," Chiron said, "because I thought you two might want to, ah, discuss matters. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some Iris messages to send. I'll see you later in the day." He gave Grover a meaningful look, then trotted out of the pavilion.**

**"What's he talking about?" I asked Grover.**

**Grover chewed his eggs. I could tell he was distracted, because he bit the prongs of his fork and chewed those down, too.**

**"He wants you to convince me," he mumbled.**

"About what?" Thalia asked

**Somebody else slid next to me on the bench: Annabeth.**

Nico clutched Percy's hand harshly.

"Nico, it's fine and I might be losing circulation in my hand," Percy whispered.

Nico loosened his grip and his blushed lightly.

Though Dionysus was glaring at Annabeth.

**"I'll tell you what it's about," she said. "The Labyrinth."**

Everyone's expressions cleared. That's what this was all about.

**It was hard to concentrate on what she was saying, because everybody in the dining pavilion was stealing glances at us and whispering. And Annabeth was right next to me. I mean **_**right **_**next to me.**

Nico clenched his teeth, he didn't like Annabeth being this close to Percy.

"Nico calm down." Percy said before kissing his cheek, knowing that it will get him out of his jealously mood.

And it did, since Nico gave him a small smile.

**"You're not supposed to be here," I said.**

**"We need to talk," she insisted.**

**"But the rules…"**

**She knew as well as I did that campers weren't allowed to switch tables.**

**Satyrs were different. They weren't really demigods. But the half-bloods had to sit with their cabins. I wasn't even sure what the punishment was for switching tables.**

Everyone turned their attention to Dionysus. He just shrugged. "Depends on the camper."

**I'd never seen it happen. If Mr. D had been here, he probably would've strangled Annabeth with magical grapevines or something, but Mr. D wasn't here. Chiron had already left the pavilion.**

Dionysus grinned thoughtfully. _Now there's an idea…_

Athena turned to Dionysus sharply. "You will do no such thing to my daughter or any other camper!" Looking into her warning-filled eyes, Dionysus deflated.

_'Damn. So close…'_

Getting chuckles from everyone but them.

**Quintus looked over and raised an eyebrow, but he didn't say anything.**

**"Look," Annabeth said, "Grover is in trouble. There's only one way we can figure to help him. It's the Labyrinth. That's what Clarisse and I have been investigating."**

**I shifted my weight, trying to think clearly. "You mean the maze where they kept the Minotaur, back in the old days?"**

**"Exactly," Annabeth said.**

**"So…it's not under the king's palace in Crete anymore," I guessed. "The Labyrinth is under some building in America."**

"No," Athena corrected, "The Labyrinth is huge. It wouldn't fit under a building. It has been panned out, over the centuries, and now takes up the space between here and the Underworld. You see, when the inventor created his labyrinth-"

"Excuse me, Athena?" Apollo interrupted. "We kind of have a book to read, before the next solstice if possible. And if your lovely daughter is anything like yourself, then she will probably explain all this anyway."

Athena huffed, but said, "You can continue father."

**See? It only took me a few years to figure things out.** **I knew that important places moved around with Western Civilization, like Mount Olympus being over the Empire State building, and the Underworld entrance being in Los Angeles. I was feeling pretty proud of myself.**

Athena tried not to snort. This was why he wasn't her son.

**Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Under a building? Please, Percy. The Labyrinth is **_**huge**_**. It wouldn't fit under a single city, much less a single building."**

**I thought about my dream of Nico at the River Styx. "So…is the Labyrinth part of the Underworld?"**

"You made the connection between me and Daedalus that early?" Nico asked Percy quietly.

"No, I was just guessing. But hoping I was wrong."

"I'm sorry Percy, I really am."

"Nico, you've already said that a thousand times. I told you that you didn't need to apologize to me anymore about it."

**"No." Annabeth frowned. "Well, there may be passages from the Labyrinth down **_**into **_**the Underworld. I'm not sure. But the Underworld is way, way down. The Labyrinth is right under the surface of the mortal world, kind of like a second skin. It's been growing for thousands of years, lacing its way under Western cities, connecting everything together underground. You can get anywhere through the Labyrinth."**

"I told you she would tell him everything," Apollo chuckled.

Athena just glared.

**"If you don't get lost," Grover muttered. "And die a horrible death."**

Everyone snorted but Nico and Percy.

"Well that's reassuring," Thalia rolled her eyes.

**"Grover, there has to be a way," Annabeth said. I got the feeling they'd had this conversation before. "Clarisse lived."**

Ares' eyes widened. "My daughter went into the Labyrinth and _lived?_

The demigods nodded.

**"Barely!" Grover said. "And the other guy—"**

**"He was driven insane. He didn't die."**

Silence fell.

"Who was it?" Zeus asked, breaking the silence. He was staring steely at Percy.

Percy hesitated. "You'll see. It will say in just a moment."

**"Oh, joy." Grover's lower lip quivered. "That makes me feel much better."**

**"Whoa," I said. "Back up. What's this about Clarisse and a crazy guy?"**

**Annabeth glanced over toward the Ares table. Clarisse was watching us like she knew what we were talking about, but then she fixed her eyes on her breakfast plate.**

**"Last year," Annabeth said, lowering her voice, "Clarisse went on a mission for Chiron."**

**"I remember," I said. "It was secret."**

**Annabeth nodded. Despite how serious she was acting, I was happy she wasn't mad at me anymore. And I kind of liked the fact that she'd broken the rules to come sit next to me.**

"Don't even start getting jealous Nico. She's only a friend," Percy whispered into his ear.

Nico only huffed and muttered, "Fine."

**"It was secret," Annabeth agreed, "because she found Chris Rodriguez."**

Hermes face crumpled. '_My poor children… why is it always my children?'_

**"The guy from the Hermes cabin?" I remembered him from two years ago.**

**We'd eavesdropped on Chris Rodriguez aboard Luke's ship, the **_**Princess Andromeda**_**. Chris was one of the half-bloods who'd abandoned camp and joined the Titan Army.**

Hermes sagged even more in his seat. Was he really that bad a father that all his children were turning against him? Oh no… _please don't let the twins have turned against me… I will never forgive myself if they have...' _He wanted to ask his sons, who were actually listening. But now was not the time. Hopefully he would know later in the books.

**"Yeah," Annabeth said. "Last summer he just appeared in Phoenix, Arizona, near Clarisse's mom's house."**

**"What do you mean he just appeared?"**

**"He was wandering around the desert, in a hundred and twenty degrees, in full Greek armor, babbling about string."**

"Chris, my poor son," Hermes muttered

**"String," I repeated.**

**"He'd been driven completely insane. Clarisse brought him back to her mom's house so the mortals wouldn't institutionalize him. She tried to nurse him back to health. Chiron came out and interviewed him, but it wasn't much good. The only thing they got out of him: Luke's men have been exploring the Labyrinth."**

**I shivered, though I wasn't exactly sure why. Poor Chris…he hadn't been a bad guy.** **What could've driven him mad? I looked at Grover, who was chewing up the rest of his fork.**

**"Okay," I asked. "Why were they exploring the Labyrinth?"**

**"We weren't sure," Annabeth said. "That's why Clarisse went on a scouting expedition. Chiron kept things hushed up because he didn't want anyone panicking. He got me involved because…well, the Labyrinth has always been one of my favorite subjects. The architecture involved—"**

Athena smiled. She loved her daughter, it was no wonder why she was considered her favorite.

**Her expression turned a little dreamy. "The builder, Daedalus, was a genius. But the point is, the Labyrinth has entrances everywhere. If Luke could figure out how to navigate it, he could move his army around with incredible speed."**

**"Except it's a maze, right?"**

**"Full of horrible traps," Grover agreed.**

Percy nodded, groaning. Poseidon's eyes shot wide open.

"You are not to go in there!"

"Sorry dad," Percy said.

"I'm not going to like hearing about your near-to-death experiences, am I?" Nico whispered so that only Percy heard.

Percy smiled sheepishly, "Probably not."

"You're going to be the death of me."

"Kind of ironic since your a son of Hades," Annabeth commented.

"Shut up Annabeth," Nico said.

**"Dead ends. Illusions. Psychotic goat-killing monsters."**

"Don't forget the psychotic demigod-killing monsters," Nico mumbled to Percy, thinking of the Ranch.

**"But not if you had Ariadne's string," Annabeth said. "In the old days, Ariadne's string guided Theseus out of the maze.** **It was a navigation instrument of some kind, invented by Daedalus. And Chris Rodriguez was mumbling about string."**

**"So Luke is trying to find Ariadne's string," I said. "Why? What's he planning?"**

"To invade camp," Thalia muttered.

**Annabeth shook her head. "I don't know. I thought maybe he wanted to invade camp through the maze, but that doesn't make any sense. The closest entrances Clarisse found were in Manhattan, which wouldn't help Luke get past our borders. Clarisse explored a little way into the tunnels, but…it was very dangerous. She had some close calls. I researched everything I could find about Daedalus. I'm afraid it didn't help much. I don't understand exactly what Luke's planning, but I do know this: the Labyrinth might be the key to Grover's problem."**

**I blinked. "You think Pan is underground?"**

**"It would explain why he's been impossible to find."**

**Grover shuddered. "Satyrs hate going underground. No searcher would ever try going in **_**that **_**place.** **No flowers. No sunshine. No coffee shops!"**

"Oh yes, because everyone knows that coffee makes the world go round and round." Nobody could tell whether Thalia was serious or not.

**"But," Annabeth said, "the Labyrinth can lead you almost anywhere. It reads your thoughts. It was designed to fool you, trick you and kill you; but if you can make the Labyrinth work **_**for **_**you—"**

**"It could lead you to the wild god," I said.**

**"I can't do it." Grover hugged his stomach. "Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up my silverware."**

**"Grover, it may be your last chance," Annabeth said. "The council is serious. **_**One **_**week or you learn to tap dance!"**

Everyone slightly chuckled at the image of Grover failing to Tap Dance despite the tension in the air.

**Over at the head table, Quintus cleared his throat. I got the feeling he didn't want to make a scene, but Annabeth was really pushing it, sitting at my table so long.**

**"We'll talk later," Annabeth squeezed my arm a little too hard. "Convince him, will you?"**

**She returned to the Athena table, ignoring all the people who were staring at her.**

**Grover buried his head in his hands. "I can't do it, Percy. My searcher's license. Pan. I'm going to lose it all. I'll have to start a puppet theater."**

**"Don't say that! We'll figure something out."**

**He looked at me teary-eyed. "Percy, you're my best friend. You've seen me underground. In that Cyclops's cave. Do you really think I could…"**

**His voice faltered. I remembered the Sea of Monsters, when he'd been stuck in a Cyclops's cave. He'd never liked underground places to begin with, but now Grover really hated them.** **Cyclopes gave him the creeps, too.**

**Even Tyson…Grover tried to hide it, but Grover and I could sort of read each other's emotions because of this empathy link between us. I knew how he felt. Grover was terrified of the big guy.**

**"I have to leave," Grover said miserably. "Juniper's waiting for me. It's a good thing she finds cowards attractive."**

**After he was gone, I looked over at Quintus. He nodded gravely, like we were sharing some dark secret. Then he went back to cutting his sausage with a dagger.**

**In the afternoon, I went down to the Pegasus stables to visit my friend Blackjack.**

"That's one awesome Pegasus," Percy said.

_**Yo, boss! **_**He capered around in his stall, his black wings buffeting the air. **_**Ya bring me some sugar cubes?**_

**"You know those aren't good for you, Blackjack."**

_**Yeah, so you brought me some, huh?**_

"Naturally," Percy chuckled.

**I smiled and fed him a handful. Blackjack and I went back a long way. I sort of helped rescue him from Luke's demon cruise ship a few years ago, and ever since, he insisted on repaying me with favors.**

_**So we got any quests coming up? **_**Blackjack asked. **_**I'm ready to fly, boss!**_

**I patted his nose. "Not sure, man. Everybody keeps talking about underground mazes."**

**Blackjack whinnied nervously. **_**Nuh-uh. Not for this horse!**_

_**You aint gonna be crazy enough to go in no maze, boss. Are ya? You'll end up in the glue factory!**_

**"You may be right, Blackjack. We'll see."**

**Blackjack crunched down his sugar cubes. He shook his mane like he was having a sugar seizure. **_**Whoa! Good stuff! Well, boss, you come to your senses and want to fly somewhere, just give a whistle. Ole Blackjack and his buddies, we'll stampede anybody for ya!**_

A few of the gods laughed. The Stolls had a thoughtful look on their face.

"You aren't going to cause a stampede."

**I told him I'd keep it in mind. Then a group of younger campers came into the stables to start their riding lessons, and I decided it was time to leave. I had a bad feeling I wasn't going to see Blackjack for a long time.**

**That night after dinner, Quintus had us suit up in combat armor like we were getting ready for capture the flag, but the mood among the campers was a lot more serious. Sometime during the day the crates in the arena had disappeared, and I had a feeling whatever was in them had been emptied into the woods.**

**"Right," Quintus said, standing on the head dining table. "Gather 'round."**

"Here we go," Percy mumbled.

**He was dressed in black leather and bronze. In the torchlight, his gray hair made him look like a ghost. Mrs. O'Leary bounded happily around him, foraging for dinner scraps.**

**"You will be in teams of two," Quintus announced. When everybody started talking and trying to grab their friends, he yelled: "Which have already been chosen!"**

"Good," Athena murmured. She knew this man was Daedalus. But, as much as she resented what he'd done, she knew that he would pair the children with their best partners. They would have the best chance at working with each other that way. Maybe they would learn their own strong and weak points too, if they were smart.

**"AWWWWW!" everybody complained.**

**"Your goal is simple: collect the gold laurels without dying. The wreath is wrapped in a silk package, tied to the back of one of the monsters. There are six monsters. Each has a silk package. Only one holds the laurels. You must find the wreath before the other teams. And, of course…you will have to slay the monster to get it, and stay alive."**

**The crowd started murmuring excitedly. The task sounded pretty straightforward. Hey, we'd all slain monsters before. That's what we trained for.**

**"I will now announce your partners," Quintus said. "There will be no trading. No switching. No complaining."**

**"**_**Aroooof!" **_**Mrs. O'Leary buried her face in a plate of pizza.**

**Quintus produced a big scroll and started reading off names. Beckendorf would be with Silena Beauregard, which Beckendorf looked pretty happy about. The Stoll brothers, Travis and Connor, would be together. No surprise.** **They did everything together.**

Hermes smiled at the mention of his sons.

**Clarisse was with Lee Fletcher from the Apollo cabin—melee and ranged combat combined, they would be a tough combo to beat. Quintus kept rattling off the names until he said, "Percy Jackson with Annabeth Chase."**

**"Nice." I grinned at Annabeth.**

**"Your armor is crooked" was her only comment, and she redid my straps for me.**

Percy just rolled his eyes.

**"Grover Underwood," Quintus said, "with Tyson."**

**Grover just about jumped out of his goat fur. "What? B-but—"**

**"No, no," Tyson whimpered. "Must be a mistake. Goat boy—"**

"Not anymore," Percy commented.

**"No complaining!" Quintus ordered. "Get with your partner. You have two minutes to prepare!"**

**Tyson and Grover both looked at me pleadingly. I tried to give them an encouraging nod, and gestured that they should move together. Tyson sneezed. Grover started chewing nervously on his wooden club.**

**"They'll be fine," Annabeth said. "Come on. Let's worry about how we're going to stay alive."**

**It was still light when we got into the woods, but the shadows from the trees made it feel like midnight. It was cold, too, even in summer. Annabeth and I found tracks almost immediately—scuttling marks made by something with a lot of legs. We began to follow the trail.**

**We jumped a creek and heard some twigs snapping nearby. We crouched behind a boulder, but it was only the Stoll brothers tripping through the woods and cursing. Their dad was the god of thieves, but they were about as stealthy as buffaloes.**

Everyone laughed and grinned, even Hermes found himself smiling too, for the first time in a while.

**Once the Stolls had passed, we forged deeper into the west woods where the monsters were wilder. We were standing on a ledge overlooking a marshy pond when Annabeth tensed. "This is where we stopped looking."**

**It took me a second to realize what she meant. Last winter, when we'd given up hope of finding him, Grover, Annabeth, and I had stood on this rock, and I'd convinced them not to tell Chiron the truth: that Nico was a son of Hades.**

"Thanks for that Percy," Nico said. He wasn't sure if he would have wanted a bunch of people from camp, especially Chiron, following him, trying to protect him, when he was grieving and angry over his sister's death. He also knew that he wouldn't have wanted the gods to know. That action might have started another war, and that was the _least_ thing they needed right now.

"You know I'll do anything for you," Percy said

"Maybe not at the time."

Percy shrugged, "Maybe"

**At the time it seemed the right thing to do. I wanted to protect his identity. I wanted to be the one to find him and make things right for what had happened to his sister. Now, six months later, I hadn't even come close to finding him. It left a bitter taste in my mouth.**

"You wouldn't have found me if I didn't even want to be found," Nico said.

"But I did find you in the end," Percy pointed out and raising his eyebrow.

"That was only luck. Pure luck that you found me."

"Whatever you say Prince of Darkness"

**"I saw him last night," I said.**

"In your _dreams_," Aphrodite grinned at the two demigods coyly, meaning it in more than one way.

Which successfully made both boys turn the darkest of red and eyes wide.

"You're not going to influence them," Poseidon threatened. Aphrodite gulped and nodded.

"I don't think I want to go that far," Percy commented.

"Me either," Nico said.

**Annabeth knit her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"**

**I told her about the Iris-message. When I was done, she stared into the shadows of the woods.**

**"He's summoning the dead? That's not good."**

"Definitely not," Thalia said.

**"The ghost was giving him bad advice," I said. "Telling him to take revenge."**

**"Yeah…spirits are never good advisers they've got their own agendas. Old grudges. And they resent the living."**

"Well, not all of them," Percy said.

**"He's going to come after me," I said. "The spirit mentioned a maze."**

**She nodded. "That settles it. We **_**have **_**to figure out the Labyrinth."**

**"Maybe," I said uncomfortably. "But who sent the Iris-message? If Nico didn't know I was there—"**

**A branch snapped in the woods. Dry leaves rustled. Something large was moving in the trees, just beyond the ridge.**

**"That's not the Stoll brothers," Annabeth whispered.**

**Together we drew our swords.**

**We got to Zeus's Fist, a huge pile of boulders in the middle of the west woods. It was a natural landmark where campers often rendezvoused on hunting expeditions, but now there was nobody around.**

**"Over there," Annabeth whispered.**

**"No, wait," I said. "Behind us."**

**It was weird. Scuttling noises seemed to be coming from several different directions. We were circling the boulders, our swords drawn, when someone right behind us said, "Hi."**

**We whirled around, and the tree nymph Juniper yelped.**

**"Put those down!" she protested. "Dryads don't like sharp blades, okay?"**

**"Juniper," Annabeth exhaled. "What are you doing here?"**

**"I live here."**

**I lowered my sword. "In the boulders?"**

"That's it Percy," Thalia rolled her eyes, "_Juniper_ lives in the boulders. Why didn't I think of that?"

Quite a few people snickered at Percy's expense. Percy glared.

"Stop insulting my thoughts!"

"Well it's true," Nico said.

"Not you too," Percy pouted.

**She pointed toward the edge of the clearing. "In the juniper. Duh."**

**It made sense, and I felt kind of stupid. I'd been hanging around dryads for years, but I never really talked to them much. I knew they couldn't go very far away from their tree, which was the source of life. But I didn't know much else.**

**"Are you guys busy?" Juniper asked.**

**"Well," I said, "we're in the middle of this game against a bunch of monsters and we're trying not to die."**

"Yeah, totally not busy," Thalia replied sarcastically.

**"We're not busy," Annabeth said.** **"What's wrong, Juniper?"**

**Juniper sniffled. She wiped her silky sleeve under her eyes. "It's Grover. He seems so distraught. All year he's been out looking for Pan. And every time he comes back, it's worse. I thought maybe, at first, he was seeing another tree."**

"He won't, especially if he got someone before Percy," Annabeth teased.

Percy just groaned and put his head into Nico's lap.

**"No," Annabeth said as Juniper started crying. "I'm sure that's not it."**

**"He had a crush on a blueberry bush once," Juniper said miserably.**

**"Juniper," Annabeth said, "Grover would never even **_**look **_**at another tree. He's just stressed out about his searcher's license."**

**"He can't go underground!" she protested. "You can't let him."**

**Annabeth looked uncomfortable. "It might be the only way to help him; if we just knew where to start."**

**"Ah." Juniper wiped a green tear off her cheek. "About that…"**

"She knows where the entrance is," Athena's eyes widened.

**Another rustle in the woods, and Juniper yelled, "Hide!"**

**Before I could ask why, she went **_**poof **_**into green mist.**

**Annabeth and I turned. Coming out of the woods was a glistening amber insect, ten feet long, with jagged pincers, an armored tail, and a stinger as long as my sword. A scorpion. Tied to its back was a red silk package.**

**"One of us gets behind it," Annabeth said, as the thing clattered toward us. "Cuts off its tail while the other distracts it in front."**

**"I'll take point," I said. "You've got the invisibility hat."**

**She nodded. We'd fought together so many times we knew each other's moves. We could do this, easy. But it all went wrong when the other two scorpions appeared from the woods.**

"_What?_" Shouted Nico, Athena, and Poseidon looked horrified now.

**"**_**Three?" **_**Annabeth said. "That's not possible! The whole woods, and half the monsters come at us?"**

**I swallowed. One, we could take. Two, with a little luck. Three? Doubtful.**

Poseidon clutched his trident with a death grip, Athena was doing the same but with the arm rests of her throne. Nico was probably going to break Percy's hand, even with the Achilles Curse.

**The scorpions scurried toward us, whipping their barbed tails like they'd come here just to kill us. Annabeth and I put our backs against the nearest boulder.**

**"Climb?" I said.**

**"No time," she said.**

**She was right. The scorpions were already surrounding us. They were so close I could see their hideous mouths foaming, anticipating an ice juicy meal of demigods.**

Poseidon was about to go into a panic attack and thinking. 'This can't be happening, my son truly has the worst luck. Besides Nico.'

**"Look out!" Annabeth parried away a stinger with the flat of her blade. I stabbed with Riptide, but the scorpion backed out of range. We clambered sideways along the boulders, but the scorpions followed us. I slashed at another one, but going on the offensive was too dangerous.**

**If I went for the body, the tail stabbed downward. If I went for the tail, the thing's pincers came from either side and tried to grab me. All we could do was defend, and we wouldn't be able to keep that up for very long.**

**I took another step sideways, and suddenly there was nothing behind me.**

**It was a crack between two of the largest boulders, something I'd passed by a million times, but…**

**"In here," I said.**

**Annabeth sliced at a scorpion then looked at me like I was crazy. "**_**In there? **_**It's too narrow."**

**"I'll cover you. Go!"**

**She ducked behind me and started squeezing between the two boulders.**

**Then she yelped and grabbed my armor straps, and suddenly I was tumbling into a pit that hadn't been there a moment before.**

"Yes!" Poseidon said triumphantly. His son was safe and out of danger.

Percy on the other hand, was a little wary. 'If that's how they acted with the scorpions, what about everything they would face in the Labyrinth? What is Hades going to do with his son being in danger. This was not going to pretty.'

**I could see the scorpions above us, the purple evening sky and the trees, and then the hole shut like the lens of a camera, and we were in complete darkness.**

**Our breathing echoed against stone. It was wet and cold. I was sitting on a bumpy floor that seemed to be made of bricks.**

**I lifted Riptide. The faint glow of the blade was just enough to illuminate Annabeth's frightened face and the mossy stone walls on either side of us.**

**"Wh-where are we?" Annabeth said.**

**"Safe from the scorpions, anyway," I tried to sound calm, but I was freaking out. The crack between the boulders couldn't have led into a cave. I would've known if there was a cave here; I was sure of it. It was like the ground had opened up and swallowed us. All I could think of was the fissure in the dining room pavilion, where those skeletons had been consumed last summer. I wondered if the same thing had happened to us.**

Nico shook his head and shot Percy an accusing glare at him. "You call forth a bunch of dead skeletons once, and then everybody blames unnatural things on you. How fair is that?"

"Cheer up Nico. It's not the end of the world and not everything is blamed on you."

"Give me one good example of it not being blamed on me," Nico said.

"Your half-brother and you already know I don't blame you for anything", Percy said**(talking about Voldemort here, since I'm going to a crossover soon)**

"Don't even remind me of that. And I know." Nico said.

**I lifted my sword again for light.**

**"It's a long room," I muttered.**

**Annabeth gripped my arm. "It's not a room. It's a corridor."**

**She was right the darkness felt…emptier in front of us. There was a warm breeze, like in subway tunnels, only it felt older, more dangerous somehow.**

**I started forward, but Annabeth stopped me. "Don't take another step," she warned. "We need to find the exit."**

**She sounded really scared now.**

**"It's okay," I promised. "It's right—"**

**I looked up and realized I couldn't see where we'd fallen in. The ceiling was solid stone. The corridor seemed to stretch endlessly in both directions.**

**Annabeth's hand slipped into mine.** **Under different circumstances I would've been embarrassed, but here in the dark I was glad to know where she was. It was about the only thing I was sure of.**

Percy looked at Nico who was clenching and unclenching his fists. "You done being jealous now," Percy teased.

"Nico jumped not expecting Percy to notice. "I guess," he grumbled.

"You're cute when your jealous when you don't need to be." Percy whispered quietly into his ear.

"I am not," Nico said with a light blush.

**"Two steps back," she advised.**

**We stepped backward together like we were in a minefield.**

**"Okay," she said. "Help me examine the walls."**

**"What for?"**

**"The mark of Daedalus," she said, as if that was supposed to make sense.**

**"Uh, okay. What kind of—"**

**"Got it!" she said with relief. She set her hand on the wall and pressed against a tiny fissure, which began to glow blue. A Greek symbol appeared: the Ancient Greek Delta.**

**The roof slid open and we saw night sky, stars blazing. It was a lot darker than it should've been. Metal ladder rungs appeared in the side of the wall, leading up, and I could hear people yelling our names.**

**"Percy! Annabeth!" Tyson's voice bellowed the loudest, but others were calling out too.**

**I looked nervously at Annabeth. Then we began to climb.**

**We made our way around the rocks and ran into Clarisse and a bunch of other campers carrying torches.**

**"Where have you two been?" Clarisse demanded. "We've been looking forever."**

**"But we were gone only a few minutes," I said.**

"Time is passes differently while in the Labyrinth," Athena clarified.

**Chiron trotted up, followed by Tyson and Grover.**

**"Percy!" Tyson said. "You are okay?"**

**"We're fine," I said. "We fell in a hole."**

**The others looked at me skeptically, then at Annabeth.**

**"Honest!" I said. "There were three scorpions after us, so we ran and hid in the rocks. But we were only gone a minute."**

**"You've been missing for almost an hour," Chiron said. "The game is over."**

**"Yeah," Grover muttered. "We would've won, but a Cyclops sat on me."**

**"Was an accident!" Tyson protested, and then he sneezed.**

**Clarisse was wearing the gold laurels, but she didn't even brag about winning them, which wasn't like her. "A hole?" she said suspiciously.**

**Annabeth took a deep breath. She looked around at the other campers.**

**"Chiron…maybe we should talk about this at the Big House."**

**Clarisse gasped. "You found it, didn't you?"**

**Annabeth bit her lip. "I—Yeah. Yeah, we did."**

**A bunch of campers started asking questions, looking about as confused as I was, but Chiron raised his hand for silence. "Tonight is not the right time, and this is not the right place." He stared at boulders as if he'd just noticed how dangerous they were. "All of you, back to your cabins. Get some sleep. A game well played, but curfew is past!"**

**There was a lot of mumbling and complaints, but the campers drifted off, talking among themselves and giving me suspicious looks.**

**"This explains a lot," Clarisse said. "It explains what Luke is after."**

**"Wait a second," I said. "What do you mean? What did we find?"**

**Annabeth turned toward me, her eyes dark with worry. "An entrance to the Labyrinth. An invasion route straight into the heart of the camp."**

"Who wants to read," Zeus boomed.

"I will father," Thalia said.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I'm not sure if I should keep the Stolls in here or send them back. Review if you want them to stay or go. And if you want me to bring any other characters in. Tell me what you think so far.**

**~NicoDiAngeloLover7**

* * *

"**Annabeth Breaks the Rules,"** Thalia started.

"Really Annabeth," Thalia said, raising her eyebrow, as was her mother, at Annabeth.

"It was necessary," Annabeth stated, shrugging her shoulders.

**Chiron had insisted we talk about it in the morning, which was kind of like, **_**Hey, your life's in mortal danger. Sleep tight!**_

A few people snorted.

**It was hard to fall asleep, but when I finally did, I dreamed of a prison.**

**I saw a boy in a Greek tunic and sandals crouching alone in a massive stone room.**

**The ceiling was open to the night sky, but the walls were twenty feet high and polished marble, completely smooth. Scattered around the room were wooden crates. Some were cracked and tipped over, as if they'd been flung in there. Bronze tools spilled out of one—a compass, a saw, and a bunch of other things I didn't recognize.**

**The boy huddled in the corner, shivering from cold, or maybe fear. He was spattered in mud. His legs, arms, and face, were scraped up as if he'd been dragged here along with the boxes.**

A few people gasped. A child should _never_ be treated that way.

**Then the double oak doors moaned open. Two guards in bronze armor marched in, holding an old man between them. They flung him to the floor in a battered heap.**

**"Father!" The boy ran to him. The man's robes were in tatters. His hair was streaked with gray, and his beard was long and curly. His nose had been broken. His lips were bloody.**

"You're dreaming of the past," Thalia commented.

Percy nodded. "How did you know?"

"They are wearing Greek tunics," She said, "How many people do you know wear them?"

"True"

**The boy took the old man's head in his arms. "What did they do to you?" then he yelled at the guards. "I'll kill you!"**

**"There will be no killing today," a voice said.**

**The guards moved aside. Behind them stood a tall man in white robes. He wore a thin circlet of gold on his head. His beard was pointed like a spear blade. His eyes glittered cruelly.**

"King Minos," Hades and Nico stated, though Nico said it with a sneer and anger in his eyes.

**"You helped the Athenian kill my Minotaur, Daedalus. You turned my won daughter against me."**

**"You did that yourself, Your Majesty," the old man croaked.**

**A guard planted a kick in the old man's ribs. He groaned in agony. The young boy cried, "Stop!"**

**"You love your maze so much," the king said, "I have decided to let you stay here. This will be your workshop. Make me new wonders. Amuse me. Every maze needs a monster. You will be mine!"**

Hestia noticed that Nico's eyes hardened every time Minos' name was mentioned. She only hoped the young man was just mad on Daedalus' behalf, and did not have any personal hatred for Minos. That would mean that he had met him before. She was sure she knew which ghost was advising Nico now. She just hoped it wasn't true. Hestia sighed; she would make sure to keep an eye on the boy through the next several chapters.

**"I don't fear you," the old man groaned.**

**The king smiled coldly. He locked his eyes on the boy. "But a man cares about his son, eh? Displease me, old man, and the next time my guards inflict a punishment, it will be on him!"**

"He is a coward," Ares said spitefully, "Only a coward threatens a boy to make someone go through with their demands."

"He is a smart coward," Nico said angrily. He was beginning to hate the ghost king even more now.

Percy laid a hand on his shoulder, and Nico turned to face him. He still had a hard glint in his eyes, though it softened considerably when he saw it was him.

"Hey, you know you don't have to worry about it. If anything, he should be worried about me since he was the reason you were in chains," Percy whispered so only Nico could hear him.

"I guess so, but I'm still furious. But thanks Perce," Nico whispered back before pressing his lips softly against his boyfriend's.

**The king swept out of the room with his guards, and the doors slammed shut, leaving the boy and his father alone in the darkness.**

**"What shall we do?" the boy moaned. "Father, they will kill you!"**

**The old man swallowed with difficulty. He tried to smile, but it was a gruesome sight with his bloody mouth.**

**"Take heart, my son." He gazed up at the stars. "I—I will find a way."**

**A bar lowered across the doors with a fatal **_**BOOM**_**, and I woke in a cold sweat.**

**I was still feeling shaky the next morning when Chiron called a war council. We met in the sword arena, which I thought was pretty strange— trying to discuss the fate of the camp while Mrs. O'Leary chewed on a life-size squeaky pink rubber yak.**

**Chiron and Quintus stood at the front by the weapon racks. Clarisse and Annabeth sat next to each other and led the briefing. Tyson and Grover sat as far away from each other as possible. Also present around the table:**

**Juniper the tree nymph, Silena Beauregard, Travis and Connor Stoll, Beckendorf, Lee Fletcher, even Argus, our hundred-eyed security chief.**

**That's how I knew it was serious.**

**Argus hardly ever shows up unless something really major is going on. The whole time Annabeth spoke, he kept his hundred blue eyes trained on her so hard his whole body turned bloodshot.**

**"Luke must have known about the Labyrinth entrance," Annabeth said. "He knew everything about camp."**

"I highly doubt he would have known about this before," Hephaestus pointed out, "The Labyrinth is constantly changing. The entrance must be fairly new."

**I thought I heard a little pride in her voice, like she still respected the guy, evil as he was.**

"She only had a crush on him, though I don't see a love interest at the moment," Aphrodite said lightly, before her lips turned up in a wicked smirk and she turned to eye Percy, "Though Percy and Nico are a different story. I've haven't felt a love that strong since Helen and Paris. Maybe even stronger still."

Annabeth nodded her head, while Percy and Nico were blushing.

**Juniper cleared her throat. "That's what I was trying to tell you last night. The cave entrance has been there a long time. Luke used to use it."**

**Silena Beauregard frowned. "You knew about the Labyrinth entrance, and you didn't say anything?"**

**Juniper's face turned green.**

"Isn't Juniper's face already green?" Zeus asked.

**"I didn't know it was important. Just a cave. I don't like yucky old caves."**

**"She has good taste," Grover said.**

**"I wouldn't have paid any attention except…well, it was Luke." She blushed a little greener.**

**Grover huffed. "Forget what I said about good taste."**

**"Interesting," Quintus polished his sword as he spoke. "And you believe this young man, Luke, would dare use the Labyrinth as an invasion route?"**

**"Definitely," Clarisse said. "If he could get an army of monsters inside Camp Half-Blood, just pop up in the middle of the woods without having to worry about our magical boundaries, we wouldn't stand a chance. He could wipe us out easy. He must've been planning this for months."**

"Definitely not good," Demeter muttered.

**"He's been sending scouts into the maze," Annabeth said. "We know because…because we found one."**

**"Chris Rodriguez," Chiron said. He gave Quintus a meaningful look.**

**"Ah," Quintus said. "The one in the…Yes, I understand."**

**"The one in the what?" I asked.**

**Clarisse glared at me.**

**"The point is, Luke has been looking for a way to navigate the maze. He's searching for Daedalus's workshop."**

**I remembered my dream the night before—the bloody old man in tattered robes.**

**"The guy who created the maze."**

**"Yes," Annabeth said. "The greatest architect, the greatest inventor of all time. If the legends are true, his workshop is in the center of the Labyrinth. He's the only one who knew how to navigate the maze perfectly. If Luke managed to find the workshop and convince Daedalus to help him, Luke wouldn't have to fumble around searching for paths, or risk losing his army in the maze's traps. He could navigate anywhere he wanted—quickly and safely. First to Camp Half-Blood to wipe us out. Then…to Olympus."**

"He couldn't do it that way, could he?" Artemis pointed out, "There's no entrance to the maze on Olympus."

"And, he'd need… Kronos," Hades said. "He would have to raise him. Then attack."

**The arena was silent except for Mrs. O'Leary's toy yak getting disemboweled: **_**SQUEAK! SQUEAK!**_

**Finally Beckendorf put his huge hands on the table. "Back up a sec, Annabeth, you said 'convince Daedalus'? Isn't Daedalus dead?"**

"No," Percy, Annabeth, and Nico grumbled. _And to think he was right in front of us, all that time_.

**Quintus grunted. "I would hope so.** **He lived, what, three thousand years ago? And even if he were alive, don't the old stories say he fled from the Labyrinth?"**

**Chiron clopped restlessly on his hooves. "That's the problem, my dear Quintus. No one knows. There are rumors…well, there are **_**many **_**disturbing rumors about Daedalus, but one is that he disappeared back into the Labyrinth toward the end of his life. He might still be there."**

**I thought about the old man I'd seen in my dreams. He'd looked so frail, it was hard to believe he'd lasted another week, much less three thousand years.**

**"We need to go in," Annabeth announced. "We have to find the workshop before Luke does. If Daedalus is alive, we convince him to help us, not Luke. If Ariadne's string still exists, we make sure it never falls into Luke's hands."**

**"Wait a second," I said. "If we're worried about an attack, why not just blow up the entrance? Seal the tunnel?"**

**"Great idea!" Grover said. "I'll get the dynamite!"**

"Where were you going to get dynamite?" Thalia asked incredulously.

"The Stolls brothers," Percy grinned. The Stolls smirked. Hermes looked disturbingly proud.

**"It's not so easy, stupid," Clarisse growled. "We tried that at the entrance we found in Phoenix. It didn't go well."**

**Annabeth nodded. "The Labyrinth is magical architecture, Percy. It would take huge power to seal even one of its entrances. In Phoenix, Clarisse demolished a whole building with a wrecking ball, and the maze entrance just shifted a few feet.**

**The best we can do is prevent Luke from learning to navigate the Labyrinth."**

"Or having it collapse," Annabeth muttered quietly.

**"We could fight," Lee Fletcher said. "We know where the entrance is now. We can set up a defensive line and wait for them. If an army tries to come through, they'll find us waiting with our bows."**

**"We will certainly set up defenses," Chiron agreed. "But I fear Clarisse is right. The magical borders have kept this camp safe for hundreds of years. If Luke manages to get a large army of monsters into the center of camp, bypassing our boundaries…we may not have the strength to defeat them."**

**Nobody looked real happy about that news. Chiron usually tried to be upbeat and optimistic. If he was predicting we couldn't hold off an attack, that wasn't good.**

**"We have to get to Daedalus's workshop first," Annabeth insisted. "Find Ariadne's string and prevent Luke from using it."**

**"But if nobody can navigate in there," I said, "What chance do we have?"**

**"I've been studying architecture for years," she said. "I know Daedalus's Labyrinth better than anybody."**

"Nobody knows the labyrinth, only Daedalus does. Even if you have the string it would be hard to navigate." Athena said.

**"From reading about it."**

**"Well, yes."**

**"That's not enough."**

**"It has to be!"**

**"It isn't!"**

**"Are you going to help me or not?"**

**I realized everyone was watching Annabeth and me like a tennis match.**

**Mrs. O'Leary's squeaky yak went **_**EEK! **_**As she ripped off its pink rubber head.**

"Will they stop mentioning that stupid dog," Hera growled. Percy and Nico glared at her. Mrs. O'Leary was awesome.

**Chiron cleared his throat. "First things first. We need a quest. Someone must enter the Labyrinth, find the workshop of Daedalus, and prevent Luke from using the maze to invade this camp."**

**"We all know who should lead this," Clarisse said. "Annabeth."**

**There was a murmur of agreement. I knew Annabeth had been waiting for her own quest since she was a little kid, but she looked uncomfortable.**

**"You've done as much as I have, Clarisse," she said. "You should go, too."**

**Clarisse shook her head. "I'm not going back in there."**

**Travis Stoll laughed. "Don't tell me you're scared. Clarisse, chicken?"**

"Not a smart move on his part," Annabeth said.

"Definitely not,"

"Did Travis Stoll just admit to something not related to stealing?"

"Katie's been a bad influence,"

**Clarisse got to her feet, I thought she was going to pulverize Travis, but she said in a shaky voice: "You don't understand anything, punk. I'm never going in there again. Never!"**

**She stormed out of the arena.**

**Travis looked around sheepishly. "I didn't mean to—"**

**Chiron raised his hand. "The poor girl has had a difficult year. Now, do we have agreement that Annabeth should lead the quest?"**

**We all nodded except Quintus. He folded his arms and stared at the table, but I wasn't sure anyone else noticed.**

**"Very well," Chiron turned to Annabeth. "My dear, it's your time to visit the Oracle. Assuming you return to us in one piece, we shall discuss what to do next."**

**Waiting for Annabeth was harder than visiting the Oracle myself.** **I'd heard it speak prophecies twice before. The first time had been in the dusty attic of the Big House, where the spirit of Delphi slept inside the body of a mummified hippie lady. The second time, the Oracle had come out for a little stroll in the woods. I still had nightmares about that.**

**I'd never felt threatened by the Oracle's presence, but I'd heard stories: campers who'd gone insane, or who'd seen visions so real they died of fear.**

**I paced the arena, waiting. Mrs. O'Leary ate her lunch, which consisted of a hundred pounds of ground beef and several dog biscuits the size of trashcan lids. I wondered where Quintus got dog biscuits that size. I didn't figure you could just walk into Pet Zone and put those in your shopping cart.**

**Chiron was deep in conversation with Quintus and Argus. It looked to me like they were disagreeing about something. Quintus kept shaking his head.**

**On the other side of the arena, Tyson and the Stoll brothers were racing miniature bronze chariots that Tyson had made out of armor scraps.**

Hephaestus smiled. He loved most Cyclops' as much as he loved his children. They understood him, and he understood them.

**I gave up on pacing and left the arena. I stared across the fields at the Big House's attic window, dark and still. What was taking Annabeth so long? I was pretty sure it hadn't taken me this long to get my quest.**

"Then again," Percy said, "I was up there for a while."

**"Percy," a girl whispered.**

**Juniper was standing in the bushes. It was weird how she almost turned invisible when she was surrounded by plants.**

**She gestured me over urgently. "You need to know: Luke wasn't the only one I saw around that cave."**

**"What do you mean?"**

**She glanced back at the arena. "I was trying to say something, but he was right there."**

**"Who?"**

**"The sword master," she said. "He was poking around the rocks."**

**My stomach clenched. "Quintus? When?"**

**"I don't know: I don't pay attention to time. Maybe a week ago, when he first showed up."**

**"What was he doing? Did he go in?"**

**"I—I'm not sure. He's creepy, Percy. I didn't even see him come into the glade. Suddenly he was just **_**there**_**. You have to tell Grover it's too dangerous—"**

**"Juniper?" Grover called from inside the arena. "Where'd you go?"**

**Juniper sighed. "I'd better go in. Just remember what I said. Don't trust that man!"**

**She ran into the arena.**

**I stared at the Big House, feeling more uneasy than ever. If Quintus was up to something…I needed Annabeth's advice.**

Nico just glared at the floor.

"Hey, you already know that I usually go to you. Plus you and I weren't exactly friends at the moment, much less dating," Percy whispered. Nico looked off to the side.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it."

**She might know what to make of Juniper's news. But where the heck was she? Whatever was happening with the Oracle, it shouldn't be taking this long.**

**Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.**

**It was against the rules, but then again, nobody was watching. I ran down the hill and headed across the fields.**

"Percy," Poseidon said sternly.

"I know," Percy mumbled, "I shouldn't have done it. I regret it, too."

The others looked at each other, wondering what he could mean now.

**The front parlor of the Big House was strangely quiet. I was used to seeing Dionysus by the fireplace, playing cards and eating grapes and griping at satyrs, but Mr. D was still away.**

**I walked down the hallway, floorboards creaking under my feat. When I got to the base of the stairs, I hesitated. Four floors above would be a little trapdoor leading to the attic. Annabeth would be up there somewhere. I stood quietly and listened. But what I heard wasn't what I had expected.**

**Sobbing. And it was coming from below me.**

Eyebrows shot up at this. What in the world?

**I crept around the back of the stairs. The basement door was open. I didn't even know the Big House **_**had **_**a basement. I peered inside and saw two figures in the far corner, sitting amid a bunch of stockpiled cases of ambrosia and strawberry preserves. One was Clarisse.**

Ares suddenly understood who the people were, and felt an uncharacteristic wave of sadness.

**The other was a teenage Hispanic guy in tattered camouflage pants and a dirty black T-shirt.**

Hermes sat up straighter. Chris.

**His hair was greasy and matted. He was hugging his shoulders and sobbing.**

**It was Chris Rodriguez, the half-blood who'd gone to work for Luke.**

**"It's okay," Clarisse was telling him. "Try a little more nectar."**

**"You're an illusion, Mary!" Chris backed farther into the corner. "G-get away."**

Hermes slumped back down, looking depressed again. Why was it always his children?

**"My name's not Mary." Clarisse's voice was gentle but really sad. I never knew Clarisse could sound that way. "My name is Clarisse. Remember. Please."**

"They like each other," Aphrodite said sorrowfully. This was so sad to listen too. Ares nodded. He'd realized it too.

Hermes turned to Dionysus angrily. "You had better fix my son, when you get back from wherever the heck it is you are, or else," He threatened.

Dionysus nodded, a bit fearfully. It was odd to see Hermes anything but happy, so for him to be practically glowing with rage… it was truly scary.

**"It's dark!" Chris yelled. "So dark!"**

**"Come outside," Clarisse coaxed. "The sunlight will help you."**

**"A…a thousand skulls. The earth keeps healing him."**

Percy's eyes widened. He'd forgotten that Chris had mentioned that. '_That makes sense now, especially what's said after.'_

**"Chris," Clarisse pleaded. It sounded like she was close to tears. "You have to get better. Please. Mr. D will be back soon. He's an expert in madness. Just hang on."**

"Good," Hermes grumbled.

**Chris's eyes were like a cornered rat's—wild and desperate. "There's no way out, Mary. No way out."**

**Then he caught a glimpse of me and made a strangled, terrified sound.**

**"The son of Poseidon! He's horrible!"**

"I agree," Thalia said solemnly, prompting Percy to shoot her a glare and everyone else to smile a bit.

"Too true," Nico commented, knowing he was going to get a look as well. He leaned over and whispered, "You know I'm not talking about you, especially since you already told me what happened."

Percy nodded, "Yeah, he was horrible,"

"What?" Apollo looked uncomfortably confused.

"You'll see what I mean later," Percy said.

"Can't you give a straight answer for once?" Apollo whined.

"Nope!" Apollo grimaced. That had been unnecessarily cheerful.

**I backed away, hoping Clarisse hadn't seen me. I listened for her to come charging out and yell at me, but instead she just kept talking to Chris in a sad pleading voice, trying to get him to drink the nectar. Maybe she thought it was part of Chris's hallucination, but…**_**son of Poseidon? **_**Chris had been looking at me, and yet why did I get the feeling he hadn't been talking about me at all?**

**And Clarisse's tenderness—**

"It's hard to believe that anyone Ares gave birth to could be tender," Apollo snickered. Ares glared at him.

"Clarisse can be whatever she wants to be!"

**it had never even occurred to me that she might like someone; but the way she said Chris's name…She'd known him before he changed sides. She'd known him a lot better than I realized.**

**And now he was shivering in a dark basement, afraid to come out, and mumbling about someone named Mary. No wonder Clarisse didn't want anything to do with the Labyrinth. What had happened to Chris in there?**

"I don't think I want to know," Percy said darkly. He'd seen enough of the labyrinth to understand a little bit of what Chris had gone through. Everyone else shook their head with him, especially Nico, who understood even more, seeing as he talked with Minos the most at the time.

**I heard a creak from above—like the attic door opening—and I ran for the front door. I needed to get out of that house.**

**"My dear," Chiron said. "You made it."**

**Annabeth looked at me first. I couldn't tell if she was trying to warn me, or if the look in her eyes was just plain fear.** **Then she focused on Quintus. "I got the prophecy. I will lead the quest to find Daedalus's workshop."**

Athena wasn't sure whether to be proud or panicked. She settled for a pained smile.

**Nobody cheered. I mean, we all liked Annabeth, and we wanted her to have a quest, but this one seemed insanely dangerous. After what I'd seen of Chris Rodriguez, I didn't even want to think about Annabeth descending into that weird maze again.**

**Chiron scraped a hoof on the dirt floor. "What did the prophecy say exactly, my dear? The wording is important."**

**Annabeth took a deep breath. "I, ah…well, it said, **_**you shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze**_**..."**

**We waited.**

**"**_**The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise."**_

"So the dead will be raised," Hades sighed. He'd been hoping Nico wouldn't do it, but it appears he would. Nico himself was looking at his father guiltily.

"And a traitor," Demeter murmured thoughtfully.

"And a lost one," Hermes finished with a smile, "Pan!"

**Grover perked up. "The lost one! That must mean Pan! That's great!"**

Hermes smiled again; his thoughts exactly.

**"With the dead and the traitor," I added. "Not so great."**

**"And?" Chiron asked. "What is the rest?"**

**"**_**You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand,"**_

"Was it talking about me, my dad, or Minos?" Nico muttered to Percy.

"Definitely not your father or Minos. Why do you think I call you the Ghost Prince all the time?"

"Why prince?"

"I'm not sure I would want to date a king. Too intimidating," Nico rolled his eyes, and Percy grinned.

**Annabeth said, **_**"the child of Athena's final stand."**_

"Final stand?" Athena asked, her voice squeaking a bit.

"I'm fine mom," Annabeth commented, not wanting her mother to have a heart attack, like Poseidon almost had in the first few books. In fact, it was surprising he hadn't said anything in a while.

**Everyone looked around uncomfortably. Annabeth was a daughter of Athena, and a final stand didn't sound good.**

**"Hey… we shouldn't jump to conclusions," Silena said. "Annabeth isn't the only child of Athena, right?"**

**"But who's this ghost king?" Beckendorf asked.**

"That's a good question," Zeus looked at Hades.

"I don't know," Hades looked at his son, "Maybe we should be asking Nico."

Everyone turned to stare at the boy.

"Why me?" Nico scowled.

"Because you're raising the dead," Poseidon replied.

"I don't know who the ghost king is exactly," Nico hesitated.

"But," Zeus prompted.

"But I have a guess," Nico said. "That's all I'm saying."

Taking the hint, Thalia continued.

**No one answered. I thought about the Iris-message I'd seen of Nico summoning spirits. I had a bad feeling the prophecy was connected to that.**

**"Are there more lines?" Chiron asked. "The prophecy does not sound complete."**

**Annabeth hesitated. "I don't remember exactly."**

**Chiron raised an eyebrow. Annabeth was known for her memory. She never forgot something she heard.**

**Annabeth shifted on her bench. "Something about…**_**Destroy with a hero's final breath.**_**"**

**"And?" Chiron asked.**

**She stood. "Look, the point is, I have to go in. I'll find the workshop and stop Luke. And…I need help." She turned to me. "Will you come?"**

**I didn't even hesitate. "I'm in."**

**She smiled for the first time in days, and that made it all worthwhile.**

**"Grover, you too? The wild god is waiting."**

**Grover seemed to forget how much he hated the underground. The line about the "lost one" had completely energized him. "I'll pack extra recyclables for snacks!"**

**"And Tyson," Annabeth said. "I'll need you too."**

**"Yay! Blow-things-up time!" Tyson clapped so hard he woke up Mrs. O'Leary, who was dozing in the corner.**

"Wait, Annabeth," Chiron said. "This goes against the ancient laws. A hero is allowed only two companions."

**"I need them all," she insisted. "Chiron, it's important."**

"You must all work together well," Athena mused.

"Yes," Percy nodded; he wasn't sure what they would have done on this quest if any of them hadn't been there. Or if something happened to Nico or Rachel.

**I didn't know why she was so certain, but I was happy she'd included Tyson. I couldn't imagine leaving him behind. He was huge and strong and great at figuring out mechanical things. Unlike satyrs, Cyclopes had no problem underground.**

"They prefer it there," Hephaestus commented.

**"Annabeth." Chiron flicked his tail nervously. "Consider well. You would be breaking the ancient laws, and there are always consequences. Last winter, five went on a quest to save Artemis. Only three came back. Think on that.** **Three is a sacred number. There are three fates, three furies, three Olympian sons of Kronos. It is a good strong number that stands against many dangers. Four…this is risky."**

**Annabeth took a deep breath. "I know. But we have to. Please."**

**I could tell Chiron didn't like it. Quintus was studying us, like he was trying to decide which of us would come back alive.**

**Chiron sighed. "Very well. Let us adjourn. The members of the quest must prepare themselves. Tomorrow at dawn, we send you into the Labyrinth."**

**Quintus pulled me aside as the council was breaking up.**

**"I have a bad feeling about this," he told me.**

**Mrs. O'Leary came over, wagging her tail happily. She dropped her shield at my feet, and I threw it for her. Quintus watched her romp after it. I remembered what Juniper had said about him scouting out the maze. I didn't' trust him, but when he looked at me, I saw real concern in his eyes.**

**"I don't like the idea of you going down there," he said. "Any of you. But if you must, I want you to remember something. The Labyrinth exists to fool you. It will distract you. That's dangerous for half-bloods. We are easily distracted."**

**"You've been in there?"**

**"Long ago." His voice was ragged. "I barely escaped with my life. Most who enter aren't that lucky."**

**He gripped my shoulder. "Percy, keep your mind on what matters most. If you can do that, you might find the way. And here, I wanted to give you something."**

**He handed me a little silver tube. It was so cold I almost dropped it.**

**"A whistle?" I asked.**

**"A dog whistle," Quintus said. "For Mrs. O'Leary."**

**"Um, thanks, but—"**

"You should accept it," Hades narrowed his eyes, "It almost sounds like Stygian ice."

"It was," Percy affirmed.

**"How will it work in the maze? I'm not a hundred percent certain it will. But Mrs. O'Leary is a hellhound. She can appear when called, no matter how far away she is. I'd feel better knowing you had this. If you really need help, use it; but be careful, the whistle is made of Stygian ice."**

**"**_**What **_**ice?"**

Everyone looked at Percy in disbelief.

"What!? I didn't know what it was at the time," Percy exclaimed.

**"From the River Styx.** **Very hard to craft. Very delicate. It cannot melt, but it will shatter when you blow it, so you can only use it once."**

"Why is it that the whistle shattered, but your sword doesn't?" Percy asked Nico.

The boy on his lap shrugged. "Different price range. Mine's meant to last forever. Very hard to destroy. If I could only use it once, I'd definitely want a refund." Nico crossed his arms.

"You're adorable," Percy whispered to Nico

"Am not,"

"Are too,"

"Am not,"

"Are -"

"For the love of Hades, just shut up!" Thalia growled.

Hades glared at her.

**I thought about Luke, my old enemy. Right before I'd gone on my first quest, Luke had given me a gift, too—magic shoes that had been designed to drag me to my death. Quintus seemed nice. So concerned. And Mrs. O'Leary liked him, which had to count for something.** **She dropped the slimy shield at my feet and barked excitedly.**

**I felt ashamed that I could even think about mistrusting Quintus. But then again, I'd trusted Luke once.**

**"Thanks," I told Quintus. I slipped the freezing whistle into my pocket, promising myself that I would never use it, and I dashed off to find Annabeth.**

**As long as I'd been at camp, I'd never been inside the Athena cabin.**

**It was a silvery building, nothing fancy, with plain white curtains and a carved stone owl over the doorway. The owl's onyx eyes seemed to follow me as I walked closer.**

**"Hello?" I called inside.**

**Nobody answered. I stepped in and caught my breath. The place was a workshop for brainiac kids. The bunks were all pushed against one wall as if sleeping didn't matter very much. Most of the room was filled with workbenches and tables and sets of tools and weapons. The back of the room was a huge library crammed with old scrolls and leather-bound books and paperbacks. There was and architect's drafting table with a bunch of rulers and protractors, and some 3-D models of buildings. Huge old war maps were plastered to the ceiling. Sets of armor hung under the windows, their bronze plates glinting in the sun.**

**Annabeth stood in the back of the room, rifling through old scrolls.**

**"Knock, knock?" I said.**

**She turned with a start. "Oh…hi. Didn't hear you."**

**"You okay?"**

**She frowned at the scroll in her hands. "Just trying to do some research. Daedalus's Labyrinth is so huge. None of the stories agree about anything. The maps just lead from nowhere to nowhere."**

**I thought about what Quintus had said, how the maze tries to distract you.**

**I wondered if Annabeth knew that already.**

**"We'll figure it out," I promised.**

**Her hair had come loose and was hanging in a tangled blond curtain all around her face. Her gray eyes looked almost black.**

**"I've wanted to lead a quest since I was seven," she said.**

**"You're going to do awesome."**

**She looked at me gratefully, but then stared down at all the books and scrolls she'd pulled from the shelves. "I'm worried, Percy. Maybe I shouldn't have asked you to do this. Or Tyson or Grover."**

**"Hey, we're your friends. We wouldn't miss it."**

**"But…" She stopped herself.**

**"What is it?" I asked. "The prophecy?"**

**"I'm sure it's fine," she said in a small voice.**

**"What was the last line?"**

**Then she did something that really surprised me. She blinked back tears and put out her arms. I stepped forward and hugged her. Butterflies started turning my stomach into a mosh pit.**

Nico just glared at Percy.

"Nico, I never dated her. You just get jealous really easily"

"Whatever" Nico looked pouty.

"I love you," Percy whispered his ear, and Nico's pout melted a bit.

"You're a dork," Nico replied, grudgingly affectionate, "But I love you too."

Aphrodite squealed a little on the inside. They were just too adorable.

**"Hey, it's…it's okay." I patted her back.**

**I was aware of everything in the room. I felt like I could read the tiniest print on any book on the shelves. Annabeth's hair smelled like lemon soap.**

"I actually prefer Nico's smell," Percy commented.

"Perce, I smell like death,"

"So?"

Nico just shook his head, but he had a smile on his face.

**She was shivering.**

**"Chiron might be right," she muttered. "I'm breaking the rules. But I don't know what else to do. I need you three. It just feels right."**

**"Then don't worry about it," I managed. "We've had plenty of problems before, and we solved them."**

**"This is different. I don't want anything happening to…any of you."**

**Behind me, somebody cleared his throat.**

**It was one of Annabeth's half-brothers, Malcolm. His face was bright red.**

**"Um, sorry," he said. "Archery practice is starting, Annabeth. Chiron said to come find you."**

**I stepped away from Annabeth. "We were just looking at maps," I said stupidly.**

**Malcolm stared at me. "Okay."**

**"Tell Chiron I'll be right there," Annabeth said, and Malcom left in a hurry.**

**Annabeth rubbed her eyes. "You go ahead, Percy. I'd better get ready for archery."**

**I nodded, feeling more confused than I ever had in my life. I wanted to run from the cabin…but then again I didn't.**

"Crushes are confusing, aren't they?" Aphrodite said sympathetically.

"It's wasn't a crush," Percy replied, tugging Nico a bit closer.

"But you had a crush on Nico," Thalia pointed out

"At first,"

Surprisingly, Nico was smirking, "So when did it change into more than a crush?"

Percy only responded by hiding his head into Nico neck, face bright red.

**"Annabeth?" I said. "About your prophecy. The line about a hero's last breath—"**

**"You're wondering which hero? I don't know."**

**"No. Something else. I was thinking the last line usually rhymes with the one before it. Was it something about—did it end in the word **_**death**_**?"**

**Annabeth stared down at her scrolls. "You'd better go, Percy. Get ready for the quest. I'll—I'll see you in the morning."**

**I left her there, staring at maps that led from nowhere to nowhere; but I couldn't shake the feeling that one of us wasn't going to come back from this quest alive.**

"This chapter's finished," Thalia handed the book to Artemis.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **_Sorry it took so long to update, I've been busy all summer with the play I did and being out of town for conferences. I don't have anything else planned, so hopefully I'll update more. I am going to see the new, "Sea of Monsters" movie tomorrow._

_Later I'm planning on writing another story. It's going to be a Percico slash. I've read abusive stories between Gabe and Percy. And there's none of those between Nico and Hades. I want to know all your opinions with if you'll read it and if you like the idea. I've had this idea for at least a year now so I really want to know! PM or Review about the story!_

* * *

"**Nico Buys Happy Meals for the Dead,"**Artemis read.

Nico looked raised an eyebrow. "Percy, how many times do you see me in your fountain thing?"

"I think this is the last time," He replied, remembering what had exactly become of the fountain afterwards.

**At least I got a good night's sleep before the quest, right?**

"Right?" Poseidon said hopefully. It would at least ease his worries a bit.

**Wrong.**

**That night in my dreams, I was in the stateroom of the****_Princess Andromeda_****.**

**The windows were open on a moonlit sea. Cold wind rustled the velvet drapes.**

**Luke knelt on a Persian rug in front of the golden sarcophagus of Kronos.**

Hermes grimaced. This was another Luke chapter. Great.

**In the moonlight, Luke's blond hair looked pure white. He wore an ancient Greek****_chiton_****and a white****_himation_****,**

**a kind of cape that flowed down his shoulders. The white clothes made him look timeless and a little surreal, like one of the minor gods on Mount Olympus. The last time I'd seen him, he'd been broken and unconscious after a nasty fall from Mount Tam. Now he looked perfectly fine. Almost****_too_****healthy.**

**"Our spies report success, my lord," he said. "Camp Half-Blood is sending a quest, as you predicted. Our side of the bargain is almost complete."**

"Spies," Athena echoed.

"There's more than one?" Hephaestus groaned. It definitely didn't look good for the camp.

**_Excellent_****. The voice of Kronos didn't so much speak as pierce my mind like a dagger. It was freezing with cruelty.****_Once we have the means to navigate, I will lead the vanguard through myself._**

**Luke closed his eyes as if collecting his thoughts. "My lord, perhaps it is too soon. Perhaps Krios or Hyperion should lead—"**

"It would be better for us if he lead," Athena mused. "If it is indeed Krios or Hyperion who leads, then our defense will be weakened by the time he gets there."

**_No._****the voice was quiet but absolutely firm.****_I will lead. One more heart shall join our cause, and that will be sufficient. At last I shall rise fully from Tartarus._**

**"But the form, my lord…" Luke's voice started shaking.**

**_Show me your sword, Luke Castellan._**

**A jolt went through me. I realized I'd never heard Luke's last name had never even occurred to me.**

Hermes grimaced._My poor, poor, beautiful, loving, sweet May._She had been so full of life.

**Luke drew his sword. Backbiter's double edge glowed wickedly—half steel, half celestial bronze. I'd almost been killed several times by that sword.**

**It was an evil weapon, able to kill both mortals and monsters. It was the only blade I really feared.**

**_You pledged yourself to me,_****Kronos reminded him.****_You took this sword as proof of your oath._**

**"Yes, my lord. It's just—"**

**_You wanted power. I gave you that. You are now beyond harm. Soon you will rule the world of gods and mortals. Do you not wish to avenge yourself? To see Olympus destroyed?_**

**A shiver ran through Luke's body. "Yes."**

Hermes glared at his feet.

**The coffin glowed, golden light filling the room.****_Then make ready the strike force. As soon as the bargain is done, we shall move forward. First, Camp Half-Blood will be reduced to ashes. Once those bothersome heroes are eliminated, we will march on Olympus._**

**There was a knock on the stateroom doors. The light of the coffin faded.**

**Luke rose. He sheathed his sword, adjusted his white clothes, and took a deep breath.**

**"Come in."**

**The doors opened. Two****_dracaenae_****slithered in—snake women with double serpent trunks instead of legs. Between them walked Kelli, the****_empousa_****cheerleader from my freshman orientation.**

**"Hello, Luke," Kelli smiled. She was wearing a red dress and she looked awesome, but I'd seen her real form. I knew what she was hiding: mismatched legs, red eyes, fangs, and flaming hair.**

**"What is it, demon?" Luke's voice was cold. "I told you not to disturb me."**

**Kelli pouted. "That's not very nice. You look tense. How about a nice shoulder massage?"**

**Luke stepped back. "If you have something to report, say it. Otherwise leave!"**

**"I don't know why you're so huffy these days. You****_used_****to be fun to hang around."**

**"That was before I saw what you did to that boy in Seattle."**

The demigods winced._That poor boy._

**"Oh, he meant nothing to me," Kelli said. "Just a snack, really. You know my heart belongs to you, Luke."**

**"Thanks, but no thanks. Now report or get out."**

**Kelli shrugged. "Fine. The advanced team is ready, as you ordered. We can leave—" She frowned.**

**"What is it?" Luke asked.**

**"A presence," Kelli said. "Your senses are getting dull, Luke. We're being watched."**

**She scanned the stateroom. Her eyes focused right on me. Her face withered into a hag's. She bared her fangs and lunged.**

**I woke with a start, my heart pounding. I could've sworn the****_empousa'_****s fangs were an inch from my throat.**

**Tyson was snoring in the next bunk. The sound calmed me down a little.**

**I didn't know how Kelli could sense me in a dream, but I'd heard more than I wanted to know. An army was ready. Kronos would lead it personally.**

**All they needed was a way to navigate the Labyrinth so they could invade and destroy Camp Half-Blood, and Luke apparently thought that was going to happen very soon.**

**I was tempted to go wake up Annabeth and tell her, middle of the night or not.**

"Yeah, why didn't you?" Annabeth asked, a slight hint of exasperation coloring her voice.

"Sorry," Percy apologized, "I got… distracted."

Athena raised a dainty eyebrow. "Oh really now. What distracted you that time?"

Percy quickly glanced down at Nico. His head was bowed and eyes were averted; they both knew what was about to happen.

**Then I realized the room was lighter than it should have been. A blue and- green glow was coming from the saltwater fountain, brighter and more urgent than the night before. It was almost like the water was humming.**

"Ah," Annabeth said delicately.

**I got out of bed and approached.**

**No voice spoke out of the water this time, asking for a deposit. I got the feeling the fountain was waiting for me to make the first move.**

**I probably should've gone back to bed. Instead I thought about what I'd seen last night—the weird image of Nico at the banks of the River Styx.**

**"You're trying to tell me something," I said.**

**No response from the fountain.**

**"All right," I said. "Show me Nico di Angelo."**

**I didn't even throw a coin in, but this time it didn't was like some other force had control of the water besides Iris the messenger goddess.**

**The water shimmered. Nico appeared, but he was no longer in the Underworld. He was standing in a graveyard under a starry sky. Giant willow trees loomed all around him.**

"Why are you there?" Hera asked.

Nico didn't bother to answer.

**He was watching some gravediggers at work. I heard shovels and saw dirt flying out of a hole. Nico was dressed in a black cloak. The night was foggy.**

**It was warm and humid, and frogs were croaking. A large Wal-Mart bag sat next to Nico's feet.**

**"Is it deep enough yet?" Nico asked. He sounded irritated.**

**"Nearly, my lord." It was the same ghost I'd seen Nico with before, the faint shimmering image of a man. "But, my lord, I tell you, this is unnecessary. You already have me for advice."**

**"I want a second opinion!" Nico snapped his fingers, and the digging stopped.**

**Two figures climbed out of the hole. They weren't people. They were skeletons in ragged clothes.**

**"You are dismissed," Nico said. "Thank you."**

**The skeletons collapsed into piles of bones.**

**"You might as well thank the shovels," the ghost complained. "They have as much sense."**

**Nico ignored him. He reached into his Wal-Mart bag and pulled out a twelve-pack of Coke. He popped open a can. Instead of drinking it, he poured it into the grave.**

**"Let the dead taste again," he murmured. "Let them rise and take this offering. Let them remember."**

**He dropped the rest of the Cokes into the grave and pulled out a white paper bag decorated with cartoons. I hadn't seen one in years, but I recognized it—a McDonald's Happy Meal.**

**He turned it upside down and shook the fries and hamburger into the grave.**

**"In my day, we used animal blood," the ghost mumbled. "It's perfectly good enough. They can't taste the difference."**

"I refuse to kill an animal when I can just buy and use cheap fast food restaurants," Nico huffed, and a few people smiled.

**"I will treat them with respect," Nico said.**

**"At least let me keep the toy," the ghost said.**

A few people snorted. Percy and Nico laughed outright, knowing who the man was and how silly the question was.

**"Be quiet!" Nico ordered. He emptied another twelve-pack of soda and three more Happy Meals into the grave, then began chanting in Ancient Greek. I caught only some of the words—a lot about the dead and memories and returning from the grave. Real happy stuff.**

**The grave started to bubble. Frothy brown liquid rose to the top like the whole thing was filling with soda. The fog thickened. The frogs stopped croaking. Dozens of figures began to appear among the gravestones: bluish, vaguely human shapes. Nico had summoned the dead with Coke and cheeseburgers.**

**"There are too many," the ghost said nervously. "You don't know your own powers."**

**"I've got it under control," Nico said, though his voice sounded fragile.**

**He drew his sword—a short blade made of solid black metal. I'd never seen anything like it. It wasn't celestial bronze or steel. Iron, maybe?**

"Wrong," Nico said smugly.

"Shut up," Percy replied petulantly. Nico smirked.

**The crowd of shades retreated at the sight of it.**

**"One at a time," Nico commanded.**

**A single figure floated forward and knelt at the pool. It made slurping sounds as it drank. Its ghostly hands scooped French fries out of the pool.**

**When it stood again, I could see it much more clearly—a teenage guy in Greek armor. He had curly hair and green eyes, a clasp shaped like a seashell on his cloak.**

**"Who are you?" Nico said. "Speak."**

**The young man frowned as if trying to remember. Then he spoke in a voice like dry, crumpling paper: "I am Theseus."**

**No way, I thought. This couldn't be****_the_****Theseus. He was just a kid. I'd grown up hearing stories about him fighting the Minotaur and stuff, but I'd always pictured him as this huge, buff guy. The ghost I was looking at wasn't strong or tall. And he wasn't any older than I was.**

"Very few demigods even make it to adulthood," Demeter commented.

"Well," Thalia observed, "That just make's me feel warm and fuzzy inside."

**"How can I retrieve my sister?" Nico asked.**

Nico's eyes were glued to his shoes. Everyone else looked at him sadly.

"Nico, you know she died a hero. And she'd be proud of you," Percy whispered in his ear.

Nico rested his head against Percy's shoulder, but still refused to make eye contact.

"I know"

**Theseus's eyes were lifeless as glass. "Do not try. It is madness."**

**"Just tell me!"**

**"My stepfather died," Theseus remembered. "He threw himself into the sea because he thought I was dead in the Labyrinth. I wanted to bring him back, but I could not."**

**Nico's ghost hissed. "My lord, the soul exchange! Ask him about that!"**

"This ghost is being too pushy about that," Demeter narrowed her eyes.

**Theseus scowled. "That voice. I know that voice."**

**"No you don't, fool!" the ghost said. "Answer the lord's questions and nothing more!"**

**"I know you," Theseus insisted, as if struggling to recall.**

**"I want to hear about my sister," Nico said. "Will this quest into the Labyrinth help me win her back?"**

**Theseus was looking for the ghost, but apparently couldn't see him.**

**Slowly he turned his eyes back on Nico. "The Labyrinth is treacherous. There is only one thing that saw me through: the love of a mortal girl. The string was only part of the answer. It was the princess who guided me."**

"Do you have a princess to guide you, Nico?" Aphrodite asked, smiling.

Nico grinned like a madman and stared up at his boyfriend "Yeah, actually, I do."

"No! Definitely not!" Percy scrambled to say, his eyes wide. He knew exactly what Nico was thinking of, and he did not like where this was going at all.

"Oh really? You don't exactly have a say in this," Nico said, still grinning, "And why not? Don't lie; if you knew it was me doing it, I wouldn't be able to get out of it. So you can't either."

"So does that mean you'll do it too?" Percy asked.

"Sure, why not? It's not like anyone else is going to see."

"What are you two talking about?" Thalia asked.

"Nothing," They replied instantly.

Aphrodite smirked. She knew exactly what they were talking about. She also swore that she was going to get pictures.

The Stolls had identical smirks on their faces.

"Continue My Lady," Thalia said.

**"We don't need any of that," the ghost said. "I will guide you, my lord.**

**Ask him if it is true about an exchange of souls. He will tell you."**

**"A soul for a soul," Nico asked. "Is it true?"**

**"I—I must say yes. But the specter—"**

**"Just answer the questions, knave!" the ghost said.**

**Suddenly, around the edges of the pool, the other ghosts became restless.**

**They stirred, whispering in nervous tones.**

**"I want to see my sister!" Nico demanded. "Where is she?"**

**"He is coming," Theseus said fearfully. "He has sensed your summons. He comes."**

**"Who?" Nico demanded.**

**"He comes to find the source of this power," Theseus said. "You must release us."**

"Is he talking about Kronos?" Artemis asked, "Or Hades? Do you know?"

Nico shook his head. "I don't know. I didn't stay to chat."

**The water in my fountain began to tremble, humming with power. I realized the whole cabin was shaking. The noise grew louder. The image of Nico in the graveyard started to glow until it was painful to watch.**

**"Stop," I said out loud. "Stop it!"**

**The fountain began to crack. Tyson muttered in his sleep and turned over.**

**Purple light threw horrible, ghostly shadows on the cabin walls, as if the specters were escaping right out of the fountain.**

**In desperation I uncapped riptide and slashed at the fountain, cleaving it in two.**

"Didn't you say that was a gift from your father?" Thalia chuckled.

Percy smiled sheepishly at his dad. "Yes."

The God of the Sea smiled, clearly amused, "Well, I forgive you, in any case."

**Salt water spilled everywhere, and the great stone font crashed to the floor in pieces. Tyson snorted and muttered, but he kept sleeping.**

"That's ridiculous," Hera grumbled.

**I sank to the ground, shivering from what I'd seen. Tyson found me there in the morning, still staring at the shattered remains of the saltwater fountain.**

**Just after dawn, the quest group met at Zeus's Fist. I'd packed my knapsack—thermos with nectar, baggie of ambrosia, bedroll, rope, clothes, flashlights, and lots of extra batteries. I had Riptide in my pocket. The magic shield/wristwatch Tyson had made for me was on my wrist.**

**It was a clear morning. The fog had burned off and the sky was blue.**

**Campers would be having their lessons today, flying pegasi and practicing archery and scaling the lava wall. Meanwhile, we could be heading underground.**

**Juniper and Grover stood apart from the group. Juniper had been crying again, but she was trying to keep it together for Grover's sake. She kept fussing with his clothes, straightening his Rasta cap and brushing goat fur off his shirt.**

**Since we had no idea what we would encounter, he was dressed as a human, with the cap to hide his horns, and jeans, fake feet, and sneakers to hide his goat legs.**

**Chiron, Quintus, and Mrs. O'Leary stood with the other campers who'd come to wish us well, but there was too much activity for it to feel like a happy send-off. A couple of tents had been set up by the rocks for guard duty. Beckendorf and his siblings were working on a line of defensive spikes and trenches. Chiron had decided we needed to guard the Labyrinth exit at all times, just in case.**

"Good," Athena murmured, "I'm glad at least some of you had brains. You did put up protection around the camp, right?"

"Of course," Percy replied

**Annabeth was doing one last check on her supply pack. When Tyson and I came over, she frowned. "Percy, you look terrible."**

"Everyone did," Percy remembered. That morning had been hard on everyone, even the people who weren't going.

**"He killed the water fountain last night," Tyson confided.**

Everyone laughed at that.

**"What?" she asked.**

**Before I could explain, Chiron trotted over. "Well, it appears you are ready!"**

**He tried to sound upbeat, but I could tell he was anxious. I didn't want to freak him out any more, but I thought about last night's dream, and before I could change my mind, I said, "Hey, uh, Chiron, can I ask you a favor while I'm gone?"**

**"Of course, my boy."**

**"Be right back, guys." I nodded toward the woods. Chiron asked an eyebrow, but he followed me out of earshot.**

**"Last night," I said, "I dreamed about Luke and Kronos."**

**I told him the details. The news seemed to weigh on his shoulders.**

**"I feared this," Chiron said. "Against my father, Kronos, we would stand no chance in a fight."**

**Chiron rarely called Kronos his father. I mean, we all knew it was in the Greek world—god, monster, or Titan—was related to one another somehow. But it wasn't exactly something Chiron liked to brag about.****_Oh, my dad is the all-powerful evil Titan lord who wants to destroy Western Civilization. I want to be just like him when I grow up!_**

**"Do you know what he meant about a bargain?" I asked.**

**"I am not sure, but I fear they seek to make a deal with Daedalus. If the old inventor is truly alive, if he has not been driven insane by millennia in the Labyrinth…well, Kronos can find ways to twist anyone to his will."**

**"Not anyone," I promised.**

**Chiron managed a smile. "No. Perhaps not anyone. But, Percy, you must beware. I have worried for some time that Kronos may be looking for Daedalus for a different reason, not just passage through the maze."**

**"What else would he want?"**

**"Something Annabeth and I were you remember what you told me about your first trip to the****_Princess Andromeda,_****the first time you saw the golden coffin?"**

**I nodded. "Luke was taking about raising Kronos, little pieces of him appearing in the coffin every time someone new joined his cause."**

**"And what did Luke say they would do when Kronos had risen completely?"**

**A chill went down my spine. "He said they would make Kronos a new body, worthy of the forges of Hephaestus."**

"I doubt it," Hephaestus snorted, "Unless he comes to me, which he won't. His loss."

**"Indeed," Chiron said. "Daedalus was the world's greatest inventor. He created the Labyrinth, but much more. Automatons, thinking machines…What if Kronos wishes Daedalus to make him a new form?"**

**That was a real pleasant thought.**

**"We've got to get to Daedalus first," I said, "and convince him not to."**

**Chiron stared off into the trees. "One other thing I do not understand…this talk of a last soul joining their cause. That does not bode well."**

**I kept my mouth shut, but I felt guilty. I'd made the decision not to tell Chiron about Nico being a son of Hades. The mention of souls, though—**

"I wasn't going to join him," Nico said indignantly.

Hestia looked at him sadly, "Even if he said he could bring back your sister?"

"Never," Nico said firmly, "I knew, and still know, right from wrong. Besides, I already had a plan. I knew Kronos won't help me. He would have just used me."

"You're being used right now," Hera rolled her eyes, "You can't believe that ghost man will actually help you."

Nico made a face, "That was an accident. He did help me, and he taught me new things about my powers, he just also happened to have an ulterior motive."

"What did you learn?" Percy asked curiously.

"A lot of stuff, Percy, none of which you would understand. He did teach me shadow travel, though," Nico mused

"Ah, shadow travel. Lovely way to get around," Percy said with a grimace. Nico shot him an amused smile.

"Oh yeah," Nico snapped his fingers, remembering something else. He looked at his father and with a grin informed him, "Charon wants a pay raise."

Percy held back a laugh, remembering his first visit to the Underworld.

"Charon's impossible," Hades grumbled, "He knows he's not due for a pay raise for a couple hundred years."

**What if Kronos knew about Nico? What if he managed to turn him evil? It was almost enough to make me want to tell Chiron, but I didn't. for one thing, I wasn't sure Chiron could do anything about it. I had to find Nico myself. I had to explain things to him, make him listen.**

Percy frowned. It was probably a good thing that they'd met at the Triple G Ranch and not earlier. It had given Nico a chance to really think about Percy's apology.

"Sorry Perce," Nico said in a small voice.

"Stop apologizing. That's all long forgiven and forgotten," Percy said quietly, before giving him a quick kiss.

"What, I don't get more than a peck on the lips?" Nico asked, disappointed.

"Maybe in the next chapter,"

Nico just pouted.

**"I don't know," I said at last. "But, uh, something Juniper said, maybe you should hear." I told him how the tree nymph had seen Quintus poking around the rocks.**

**Chiron's jaw tightened. "That does not surprise me."**

**"It doesn't sur—you mean you know?"**

**"Percy, when Quintus showed up at camp offering his services…well, I would have to be a fool not to be suspicious."**

**"Then why did you let him in?"**

**"Because sometimes it is better to have someone you mistrust close to you, so that you can keep an eye on him. He may be just what he says: a halfblood in search of a home. Certainly he has done nothing openly that would make me question his loyalty. But believe me. I will keep an eye—"**

**Annabeth trudged over, probably curious why we were taking so long.**

**"Percy, you ready?"**

**I nodded. My hand slipped into my pocket, where I kept the ice whistle Quintus had given me. I looked over and saw Quintus watching me carefully.**

**He raised his hand in farewell.**

**_Our spies report success_****, Luke had said. The same day we decided to send a quest, Luke had known about it.**

**"Take care," Chiron told us. "And good hunting."**

**"You too," I said.**

**We walked over to the rocks, where Tyson and Grover were waiting. I stared at the crack between the boulders—the entrance that was about to swallow us.**

**"Well," Grover said nervously, "good-bye sunshine."**

**"Hello rocks," Tyson agreed.**

"Tyson must be happy," Zeus chuckled. Grover wouldn't be though.

**And together, the four of us descended into darkness.**

Poseidon sighed. Athena grimaced anxiously.

"And we're done," Artemis said, passing the book to her sister.

Demeter cleared her throat, and began.


End file.
